You Made Me
by FanFicReader13
Summary: When Jon thinks he's found his birth-mother in Starfall, he enlists roommate Gendry and sister Arya to share the long drive, inadvertently sparking an undeniable connection between the two. Modern AU. Arya/Gendry
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome! Some of you might know my other story Push and Pull. I haven't given up on it, I promise. Chapters will be up soon. In the meantime, here is my Arya/Gendry Modern AU. I'm really excited about this one, and it's pretty much already written, so updates should be weekly.**

* * *

It's been three months since Gendry left King's Landing, moved to Winterfell, and enrolled into Stark University.

Gendry was never sure if he even wanted to go to university. He was happy to spend a few more years at Tobho Mott's car shop. He likes working with his hands. He likes working on cars. He likes that they are intricate and complicated, and he likes that he understands them.

When his Uncle Renly asked why he did not want to attend (which was frequently), Gendry's reply was always, "why would I _want _to go?" or "how's it going to help me?" He still didn't know, though Renly assures him that it will "help him decide what he wants to do with his life" and that it's an "experience no one should miss".

But Gendry did feel the need to _get out_. King's Landing was too chaotic.

He was tired of the events Renly dragged him to. He was tired of socializing with superficial people. He was especially tired of running into his piece of shit half-brother all the time. And his piece of shit father, but that happened rarely, for Robert was usually too drunk to attend to any gatherings.

Ten years ago, Robert Baratheon had left his wife and nine-year old son. He did not call, he did not give them money, he left them to fend for themselves completely.

Gendry was eleven when his mother, the only person in the world who had loved and cared for him completely, who had never let him down, died of a brain aneurysm. No one had expected it.

That's when his Uncle Renly took him in. He was the youngest brother to Robert, but somehow much more mature and well-grounded. Gendry had only met him once or twice before, they hadn't really known each other, but the man basically gave up his life for him. His then live-in boyfriend, Loras Tyrell, left because he wasn't ready to take on the responsibility of a kid.

And just like that, Gendry had someone else who loved and cared for him completely, who never let him down. Renly was the only part of King's Landing that he didn't want to leave.

But Gendry needed something calm for once, something real. He needed some fresh air.

The north would offer him that.

His grades were decent enough, and Uncle Renly offered to pay.

And so, here he was, nodding off on the sofa that he and his roommate had split the cost for, unable to make sense of the words on the gigantic chemistry textbook in his lap.

It is mid-November, and his classwork is fucking him over backwards and sideways. The end of term was nearing, and all of his professors decided to pile on the work. _Hard._

He had been struggling all year, but it hadn't been this bad. He hadn't thought there was a possibility that he could fail!

"Gendry. You have to stop."

He looks up at his roommate, Jon Snow.

Gendry and Jon had become fast friends. At first, he had been a little freaked about being roommates with a Stark (even if Jon insisted that he was not in fact a Stark).

It wasn't because his father owned the school. It was because the Starks were longtime family friends of Robert. Ned Stark even went to grade school with him. And Gendry did not want to be associated with his father, whatsoever.

But Jon never so much as brought up Robert, except for once, after just discovering Gendry's last name.

"Is Robert Baratheon…"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

And that was that.

Jon was fun to be around, easy to talk to (something Gendry struggles with on occasion), and fiercely loyal to his friends and family, a quality Gendry admires.

"I can't, you know I have that massive test tom—"

"Yes, I'm aware of that massive chemistry test you have tomorrow, as you've complained about nothing else all week. And if you're not complaining about it, you have that fucking textbook right under your nose."

"Jon, I just want to pass."

"No. You want a break."

Gendry makes a show of considering this deeply, furrowing his eyebrows and looking up contemplatively. "No," he finally replies with a small shake of the head. "Pretty sure I just wanna pass."

Jon ignores him. "Put down the fucking book, Gendry, and come help me move my little sister into her new apartment with her boyfriend."

He scrunches up his nose. "Isn't she like, fifteen?"

"No, that's Arya you're thinking of, and she's sixteen. My other sister is the one moving out, Sansa. She's eighteen."

"I honestly think I'd rather torture myself with chemistry than help box up a bunch of shit and move it to your sister's boyfriends."

"Please." Jon sighs. "Robb is busy with Jeyne, and my dad is in a meeting…"

"Ahhh, the truth comes out," Gendry accuses, a smile threatening to pull at the corner of his lips. "You're not trying to help me at all, are you? You don't care if I kill myself studying, you just don't want to have to do all the heavy lifting yourself."

"Yep."

"Fine."

"Brilliant."

* * *

Jon drives them to Stark manor. Gendry fiddles with the radio every minute or so just to annoy him.

"Oi! Stop it." Jon smacks his hand away.

Gendry suppresses a laugh. "Okay. Christ, no need to get violent here."

They pull up to through gates, and Gendry can't help but admire the mansion and spacious yard. It's rare in King's Landing to see homes like these ones. Most live in posh penthouses, like Renly does, or extravagant townhomes. If you were poorer, like he was when living with his mother alone, you had a crappy flat in Flea Bottom.

Jon parks in the drive way, next to the big moving van. They slide out the car and make their way up to the front door where they have to pause for a minute, because Jon can't find his keys. He pats his front and back pockets four times before finding them inside his coat. Gendry rolls his eyes.

As they enter, they are immediately assaulted by a small girl, with fiery grey eyes. Since when was grey the color of fire?

"I can't fucking believe you came!"

"Good to see you too, little sister."

"Don't 'little sister' me! You're helping her _ruin her life_."

"I like Sandor."

"You fucking like Sandor," she mumbles, laughing dryly, "okay. _Mother's_ the only one who agrees with me. _Mum _and I agree on something_._ What the fuck is going on…" She sighs, and finally turns to Gendry, realizing his presence for the first time. "Who're you?"

Gendry actually gets a good look at her for the first time.

Her eyes have calmed some, looking at him expectantly. But the fire is still there, just hidden.

She wears jeans that look so worn in that they've molded perfectly to her shape. A black sweater falls past her hips and swallows her tiny form.

Her brown hair is cut short, falling just beneath her chin, framing her face and making her look even smaller, which for whatever reason Gendry likes.

"This is my roommate, Gendry," Jon answers when it's obvious he won't be.

Oh shit, how long was he just standing there, staring stupidly. He wasn't staring though, right?

"Gendry, this is my little sister, Arya." He turns to her. "Where is Sansa?"

"Upstairs. In her room, with her big brute of a boyfriend. Probably fucking on her twin sized bed."

"Fucking hell, Arya." Jon stomps up the stairs, mumbling. "Did not need that in my head…"

All of this amuses her greatly. Her eyes brighten and dance with laughter.

For a moment, it's like he can't breathe. What is wrong with him?

After she's done watching Jon trudge up the stairs, she turns to him. "So I'm going to assume Jon forced you here and you were unaware that my sister was ruining her life?"

"Yep, completely unaware of anyone ruining their lives."

Her smile widens and she lets out a breath of laughter. "Her room's upstairs, on the left. I will not be taking part, because I refuse to have anything to do this."

"Understandable. I can find my way."

* * *

It's been two weeks since Sansa moved out. Her mother was quiet around the house and spent most of her time cleaning. Her father was worried about his wife yet happy that Sansa was happy.

Why couldn't Arya just be happy that Sansa was happy, too? She wanted to be.

She was in the kitchen, sitting at the bar with her textbook, unable to concentrate on studying for her upcoming exams.

All she could think of Sansa. She knows that she and her sister don't always get along, but Arya loves her and worries about her, like any sister would.

She slams the textbook shut, admitting defeat.

It isn't Sandor's size, it really isn't, though she may crack jokes about it… there's just something about him. His eyes… that's what really scares Arya. His cold, cruel eyes. They are so indifferent. Does he feel nothing at all?

Arya is suddenly thinking of her brother's roommate. Gendry is almost as tall as the Hound, and is actually more muscular… but he doesn't worry her at all.

His blues eyes are kind, and bright when he smiles. They are reserved and calm. She remembers the way he looked at her, his gaze soft and deep.

She feels heat rising to her cheeks. What is wrong with her?

She shakes off all thoughts of Gendry, and forces herself to return to economics.

* * *

Gendry walks out of his last exam with a smile on his face. He finished his first term ever of university. And he felt confident that he hadn't failed anything.

He collapses on his bed as soon as he returns to the dorms, exhausted. He passes out within minutes.

The sun is already set by the time he wakes up.

"Gendry."

Jon is hovering over him. This should scare Gendry, but this is not the first, or even second, time he has awoken to Jon staring down at him.

"Yeah?" he mumbles sleepily.

"I think I found my birth mother."

"But you… you said she dead?"

"Yeah, 'cause that's what I thought."

* * *

"I can't believe Dad lied to me."

Jon says it for the third time since they've been on the road. He shakes his head. "Why would he fucking lie to me?"

"Umm..." Gendry feels slightly uncomfortable. This is some heavy shit, and he is half-worried that Jon is going to start crying. "I don't know."

Jon freaked out back at the dorms, started throwing clothes and granola bars alike together in a suitcase. It was a weird scene.

"Pack some clothes," he said. "We're going on a road trip. We're going to Starfall."

And so now he's in the passenger seat of Jon's car, worrying about his roommate's current mental state.

Jon suddenly pulls out his phone, and scrolls down until he finds his desired contact. "Hey."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just… have you finished your exams? Okay, good. Look, pack some clothes and food. I'm coming by…" Gendry can faintly hear the voice on the other end, but has no idea who it is or what they're saying. "No, I'm not in any trouble. I'll explain when I get there, okay? Okay, I love you too."

"Who was that? Where're we going, Jon?"

"We're going to pick up my little sister."

* * *

Gendry watches through the car window as Jon runs up to the front door. Arya slips out, her suitcase in hand, along with the promised food, which is stuffed in an old shopping bag.

She reaches out a hand to his arm, concern etched into her face. Jon is talking, but Gendry cannot read lips so his exact words are lost on him. But from the shock in Arya's eyes, he knows Jon has told her about his mother.

Confusion is next, and questions are on her tongue, but Jon is pulling her towards the car.

Arya throws her stuff into the backseat before sliding in herself.

"Jesus, Arya. Be careful with the food."

"It's crisps, Jon, not fucking eggs."


	2. Chapter 2

Jon drove until around one in the morning, before he started to nod off behind the wheel. Then Arya demanded they switch off for a bit so he can get some sleep.

He passed out within a minute of laying down in the backseat, and is snoring quite loudly now.

"How far is Starfall?"

"Ehh," Arya answers. "Not long."

"Not long?"

"Well, I don't fucking know, do I? This is my first road trip. I'm not an expert on travel time."

Gendry shuts up.

Arya couldn't stop thinking about her father. The man who valued honor and honesty above all else. Who valued _family_ above all else. Why did he lie to them? Why say she was dead?

"Arya?"

Gendry brought her out of her thoughts. "Yeah?"

"I think you missed the turn."

"Fuck," she sighs with exasperation. She makes a violent U-turn.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"Relax, the roads are empty. We're fine."

Gendry shakes his head in disbelief and disapproval, but his eyes are gleaming with amusement. "You're completely mental."

"Well, you're completely stupid." She thrums her fingers against the wheel, biting her lip. "Why do you think my dad lied to us?"

He shrugs, and then after a minute says, "Maybe he's trying to protect you. Sometimes you're better off—"

"How can you be better off without your mum?"

"Not every parent is perfect. Sometimes they'll fuck you up."

There's an emotion in his eyes Arya can't place. He looks away to hide it from her. She decides that he might be speaking from experience.

"You think Jon's real mum would've fucked him up?"

"Maybe."

Arya thinks about this for a moment. Maybe Dad was trying to protect him, but that doesn't make it right to tell your son that his mother was dead.

"Jon had a right to know."

* * *

Gendry is driving now.

They are in a comfortable silence. It's oddly easy with Gendry. Sometimes, Arya felt the need to talk and talk to not feel awkward. But not with him.

Arya's legs are pulled into the seat, and she is leaning against the window, watching him.

He is so focused, his hands stay on the wheel and his eyes never leave the road.

For some reason, Arya likes watching him.

But she doesn't want him to _know_ that she likes watching him, so she tries to be subtle, peeking through her lashes.

He catches her anyway.

"What?" Gendry glances over to her, a smile pulling at his lips. It's the first time she's seen him look away from the road.

She looks down and tries to hide the heat rising to her cheek. "You're a good driver," she comments.

"Yeah," he nods. "And you're an awful one."

Arya laughs and Gendry joins her.

"So, Gendry," Arya starts, "how are you liking Winterfell? You're from King's Landing, yeah?"

"Yeah, I like it. There's less going on, I can actually breathe for once."

"I don't know how anyone can live there. I went down there once with my Dad and Sansa, who was looking at universities at the time. I hated it. Everyone was so packed together, it was really fucking hot, and I didn't see one tree, anywhere! It was fucking awful, I never want to go—" Arya realizes what's coming out of her mouth.

Gendry starts laughing. "Arya, it's okay. I didn't like it much either. It's part of the reason I left."

"What're the other reasons?"

Gendry tenses up, and she curses her stupid curiosity and her stupid brain for not filtering her stupid mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry—"

"No, it's okay." He says tentatively. He stares out onto the road. "I left because I was tired of my life there, how I was treated, the people …"

Arya doesn't push it any further and simply nods. "Sometimes I just wanna leave too," she admits. "My mum is… intense. She's always comparing me to Sansa. She doesn't realize we're different people."

What is she doing? She has never said any of this aloud to anyone.

"Everyone compares me to Sansa, at home, at school, even now when she's graduated. 'Oh Sansa's so sweet', 'Sansa behaves like a lady', and 'Sansa's so pretty'…"

"Sansa's not prettier than you."

Arya is startled by his words. She looks to him, and he's staring at her intently. The road is forgotten, and somewhere in the very back of her mind she is concerned they will crash.

Her heart is beating impossibly fast. She is caught in his intense gaze. She doesn't understand what she's feeling.

She shakes her head, and forces herself out of the moment.

"You need to get your eyes checked, Gendry."

"No, but maybe you do."

* * *

"Hey, wake up."

Arya's eyes open slowly. She raises her head from the window sill, where she'd been dozing. The last she remembered, it was dark out. But now, the sky is colored blue and pink and orange, in the beginnings of early dawn.

"Where-?"

"Some old motel, just outside Moat Cailin." He shrugs. "Thought we could get some sleep."

She looks outside the window and at her surroundings. The car park is deserted, and the little run down motel is the only sign of civilization for miles to come on the seemingly never-ending highway.

"It looks like we're in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, I'm struggling just to keep my fucking eyes open over here. And you don't look too eager to be driving, either. And god knows that Jon doesn't." He gestures to her brother, conked out in the backseat.

Arya smiles as he finishes his little rant, completely frustrated with lack of sleep. "Just an observation, Gendry." She opens the car door, and slides out. "A bed sounds good to me."

She slams the door with all the force she can muster. Her plan works, and Jon abruptly sits up, cursing.

"What the fuck, Arya!"

She smirks as she makes her way up to the motel.

* * *

Jon immediately collapses on the sofa and falls back asleep, just after turning on the TV. Some cooking show is left playing.

Gendry opts to take a shower before going to bed. She hopes he doesn't fall asleep in there.

There are two double beds, and she claims the one nearest to the window. Before curling up beneath the covers, she hastily closes the heavy curtains, for she knows the light will only bother her.

As she settles her head into the soft pillows, her phone rings. She growls as she grabs it off the nightstand.

"What?"

"Arya? Are you okay? Where are you?"

Her father's concerned voice lets out a long stream of questions. Arya sighs. Why did he lie?

She sits up in bed, and turns on the lamp by her bed. "Dad, I'm fine. I'm with Jon. I left a note—"

"Yes, thank you for being so considerate."

_Oh. _He is mad. "Dad, I'm sorry for leaving without telling you. But it wasn't planned or anything, Jon needed me."

"Why?"

Arya bites her lip. "I can't say." Jon made her promise she wouldn't say anything to the family, _especially _Dad.

"_Arya_."

"I promised I wouldn't!"

"Let me talk to Jon."

He won't want to. "He's asleep."

"Wake him, then. He hasn't answered any of my calls, he—"

"Dad," Arya interrupts. "Jon will tell you when he's ready, okay?"

There is silence on the other line. And then, "Tell him to call me when he wakes up."

"Okay. I'll tell him."

"Come home soon, okay?"

"Yeah, Dad. I will."

"I love you."

Why did he lie? "Love you, too."

She hangs up the phone and lies back down with a sigh. Arya turns on her side, her thoughts running a mile a minute. Why, why, why, why…

The bathroom door clicks open, and she glimpses Gendry in nothing but a towel hanging dangerously low around his hips.

He has assumed that she would be asleep.

Her heart stops, and she's panicking. Before she knows it, her eyes are shut and she's feigning sleep.

She hears him shuffle around for something to sleep in, the towel drop, and the pull of clothes.

The image of his well-muscled chest worms its way into her head, just for a moment. He is strong, she thinks. Like a bull.

She hopes that she isn't blushing. That would surely give her away. Do people blush in their sleep?

And then there are footsteps, bound for her. Her heartbeat increases. What is he doing?

She senses that he pauses at her bedside. She feels his eyes. "Goodnight, Arya," he whispers.

Then he clicks off the lamp she left on. She hears the rustle of sheets as he climbs into bed.

She waits until her heart slows before she risks a curious glance his way.

His back is to her, the covers pulled up to his waist.

Arya has never fallen asleep more confused.

.


	3. Chapter 3

Gendry likes Arya. She is passionate, unpredictable, hard but soft. He couldn't explain it.

When she is asleep, he has never seen such an innocent face. The innocence was always there, behind her eyes, if you just looked close enough. If you just watched her, as Gendry had been spending a multitude of time doing as of late…

It was the same with the fire. When she is excited, or frustrated with him or Jon. When she thinks of something clever or mischievous, her grey eyes were ablaze.

But when she is leaning her head against the car window, listening to the radio, or talking to him softly about her family, her eyes were calm as water.

He likes that she feels what she feels when she feels it. He likes that she is honest. He likes that she is real. He likes that she is alive.

"I'm hungry."

Gendry peers at her in the front mirror at the random declaration. "There's some crisps left, or a granola bar…"

She scrunches up her nose in distaste. "I need _real _food." Her eyes brighten as she spots something up on the road ahead. "Let's go to Taco Bell!"

"I don't think that constitutes as real food," Jon teases her.

She rolls her eyes. "It's better than fucking crisps!"

"Is it?" Jon continues, just to get a rise out of her.

"Yes, I think fucking so."

"Fucking hell, I do not know how your parents ever dealt with the two of you."

* * *

They decide to eat inside because they are beyond fucking tired of being in the car.

Arya devours her taco like she hasn't eaten anything in days (which she claims she hasn't, as crisps and granola bars do not count). Jon enjoys his taco too, despite all the complaining Arya and Gendry had to endure less than ten minutes ago.

When they have all finished, they sit there sipping their drinks, dreading getting back in the car.

"There's a pub across the street."

Arya just throws it out there. Jon laughs, "Says the underage girl."

She rolls her eyes. "I'll buy."

"You mean Dad'll buy."

"It a free drink, stupid. Do you want it or not?"

Jon shrugs.

The barman gives her no trouble as Arya orders and pays for their drinks.

It isn't long before Gendry can't keep track of how many pints the youngest Stark girl has passed his way. He guesses four.

Gendry usually doesn't drink too much, in fear of his father's alcoholism. But he felt safe with Jon and Arya there. His blood is pumping, his face is flushed. His body vibrates with contentedness.

Arya is ready for the fifth round. She approaches the bar and says as much. As she waits for her drink, the man beside her attempts conversation.

He is in last forties, drunker than most men Gendry had seen, and twice the size of Sandor Clegane.

Gendry take an immediate disliking.

He makes some innuendo that Gendry cannot hear from their table. Arya replies with a roll of her eyes and some words he knows are unkind. Gendry imagines something Arya-esque, like, "Oh, fuck off."

She taps her foot as she grows impatient for her drink. He proceeds to move closer to her, and his hand is sliding to her waist, down her hip…

Before Gendry's drunken mind knows what's happening, he's out of his chair and his fist has made contact with the man's face.

"Gendry!"

He hits him again, and then again. The man fights back, and gets a punch in. Gendry doesn't feel the pain, but he tastes blood on his lips.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He distantly hears Jon voice, now. Arya call his name again.

Gendry throttles him into the bar, and breaks all sorts of glasses. They both end up on the ground, both grappling for the upper hand.

He eventually ends up on the bottom. He is bigger. He is stronger. And Gendry is stupid.

"Get off of him!" Arya is desperately trying to pull the man off of him. "_Stop_."

She is going to get hurt, he thinks in the very back of his head. Everything is so fuzzy. The world is spinning around him.

It took Jon _and_ the barman to peel the man off of Gendry.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" She asks him as she and Jon help him up. Her eyes glisten with unshed tears. "You didn't need to do that! I didn't need you to do that, stupid!"

* * *

They have been kicked out of the bar.

Jon drives until they find a hotel (he is the most sober). It doesn't take long; there is one up the road.

No one speaks.

Arya takes him into the bathroom and tries to clean him up. Gendry cringes when he sees his reflection in the mirror. His lip is cut and swollen. There is red mark on his jaw that will turn into a nasty bruise, and another near his right eye.

She uses hotel towels and alcohol from the mini-bar as antiseptic.

He sits on the edge of the bathtub, and she on the closed toilet.

Her touch is gentle as she dabs the blood away. Her fingers run across the soon to be bruise along his jaw. It's so feather light that he doesn't flinch.

He sees that her grey eyes are sad. It makes his stomach twist with guilt. "I'm sorry."

"I am, too."

"I'm just like him," he mumbles drunkenly. "I'm just like my father, I don't want to be, but…"

"Gendry, you're not making sense." Her brows furrow. "What are you on about?"

"Robert Baratheon is..." He can't bring himself to say the words 'my father'.

But she understands, anyway.

Her eyes widen in surprise. Then recognition flashes past them, probably noticing the resemblance for the first time. And then finally, they soften.

"You're nothing like him, Gendry."

No other words had ever meant so much to him.

They give him a shot of whiskey (also from the mini-bar) because they don't have any aspirin. He falls asleep within minutes of lying down.

* * *

"Why did he do that?"

"I don't know, Jon." Arya sighs. "Because he's a good guy?"

* * *

Jon fell asleep on the sofa hours ago. But Arya remains awake, curled up on the loveseat beneath a throw, blankly staring at the TV. She isn't really watching.

No one confused her more than Gendry. The things he did, the way he made her feel…

She has never experienced anything like this.

She doesn't know why or how she came to this decision, but she is now walking towards the bedroom. Tomorrow, she will blame it on the beer.

It is dark, but her eyes adjust. She spies Gendry's sleeping form, atop the comforter but beneath the blanket she had thrown over him earlier.

He is still in the clothes he had worn all day. She can spot more than one bloodstain.

Arya closes the door softly behind her. She sits on the edge of the bed, and she watches him. She reaches out an unsure hand, and traces all the marks he took for her along his face.

"I'm sorry, Gendry" she whispers. "I really am."

She is so tired. She lies down beside him, and drifts off to sleep.

* * *

She wakes to the feel of his fingers on her cheek, brushing back her hair. Their eyes meet. Her breath hitches and her heart skips a beat.

His shoulder is beneath her head, and his arm comes around to her back. How they became entangled like this, she doesn't know.

"What're you doing here?" His voice is a whisper, breathless and gentle, surprised.

"I don't know." That is the truth. She didn't know.

She didn't know why she came in here. She didn't know why she let him hold her like this. She didn't know why she wanted him to.

Arya has never been so close to someone.

Last summer, Sansa dragged her to a house party. She hadn't known anyone there, except for classmate Edric Dayne. He occasionally sat at her lunch table, and when he did, he always made her laugh.

Slightly drunk and lonely, she let him press her against the wall, kiss her neck, and run his hands beneath her shirt. That was it.

This was somehow more intimate.

But you barely know him, she tells herself.

_He grew up in King's Landing. He is a good driver. He has kind eyes. He is easy to talk to and makes you smile. He makes you laugh. He makes you feel confused, wonderful, and horrible all at the same time.  
He is nothing like his father._

Maybe that is enough.

"Just… stay."

Gendry's thumb caresses her cheek softly. She shivers and gooseflesh runs all over her skin. He nods.

They shift together, his arm finds the small of her waist, and her fingers splay across his chest. She tucks her head in his shoulder.

"I'll leave before Jon wakes up," she murmurs to him quietly.

They fall asleep in one of their comfortable silences.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Okay, two things:**

**I just wanted to clarify that for this story, I'm going with the "Ashara Dayne is Jon's mother" theory. If you aren't familiar, here it is straight from AWOIAF:**

**"After the events of the Tower of Joy, Ned Stark went to Starfall to inform House Dayne of Ser Arthur's death. Ashara jumped from the top of one of the towers, the Palestone Sword. Her body was never recovered. After these events, Ned Stark returned to Winterfell with the infant Jon Snow, refusing to name the child's mother. This sparked rumors that Ashara had been the mother of Stark's bastard, and that grief at learning that her lover had been responsible for her brother's death was the cause of her suicide."**

**Second, someone asked why I have the same story posted twice with different titles. Well, I wanted to post it in both the GOT and ASOIAF threads,and they won't let you have a story with the same title, so I changed it a bit.**

**Anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

His head pounds, the light irritates his eyes, and his stomach twists into knots. Gendry is well hung over.

He wakes alone, and part of him is disappointed. He shrugs the feeling off and heads to the bathroom.

He turns on the hot water and strips out of his slept-in and bloodstained clothes, all the while careful to avoid the mirror. He doesn't even want to think about how cringe worthy his reflection must be.

He steps in the shower and attempts to wash off the events of last night.

_What the fuck is wrong with him?_

He got off his ass drunk, proceeded to partake in a bar fight with a man twice his size, and then shared a bed with a sixteen year old girl (even if they only slept), who also happened to be his only friend's little sister.

He was not right in the head.

He spends over a half hour under the hot water, not yet ready to face Arya or Jon. Is it going to be weird?

It's going to be weird, he decides as he finally steps out.

They are out in the little living room, lounging on the sofa. Arya is curled up with her knees tucked in and her head resting on the arm, looking just as hung over as he feels. Their eyes are glued to the television, but they turn to him when the door clicks shut. Gendry tries immensely hard not to feel awkward, but inevitably fails.

"You look like shit," Jon comments.

Arya bites her lip. "It's worse."

"Yeah, I couldn't really bring myself to look."

Gendry makes his way over to them, and realizes that he is unsure of whom he should sit next to. He decides neither, and sits on the separate loveseat.

"That's probably a good idea."

Jon snorts at Arya's comment. She glares and thwacks his knee with her foot. "Ow! That fucking hurt—"

"Jesus, okay." She flinches. "Keep it down, alright? My head is killing me."

"Well, that's what fucking happens—"

"Hey," she interrupts. "I've _always _been sympathetic to your hangovers. So please do me a favor and shut the fuck up."

Jon softens, silently agreeing that he would indeed 'shut the fuck up'. Gendry's grateful, for his own head was throbbing at the painfully loud words.

"Have we got any coffee?"

"Yeah," Arya answers, gesturing to the hotel's complimentary pot in the room's little kitchen area, "Started it a little while ago, probably still hot."

Gendry thanks her and goes to fetch his coffee. Okay, he thinks. This isn't too awkward.

As he's pouring, Jon asks, "Leave any hot water, Gendry?"

"Yeah, should be fine."

"Okay," Jon stands. "Gonna go shower, then."

Oh shit. Now he and Arya were alone.

Something about her… it made him do insane things. It made him _feel _insane. Especially when alcohol is added.

He has no idea what came over him last night to act the way he did. To hold her in his arms, stroke her hair, feel her soft skin beneath his fingertips.

The hardest part is- Arya is so unpredictable. He never knew what she would do.

He never thought she would crawl into bed with him in the middle of the night. He never thought she would look up at him with those big, entrancing grey eyes of hers and ask him to stay.

Being alone with her absolutely terrified him.

"Gendry?"

"Yeah?"

"You really do look like shit."

He smiles at her teasing grin and laughing eyes. "Well, at least _I _showered. It wouldn't hurt to smell nice for once, you know."

"Hey!"

They are pretending it never happened.

And he's okay with that.

* * *

It's late afternoon and Jon is done driving for the day, handing off the keys to Gendry.

He watches her through the rear view mirror.

She sits in the back with headphones in, eyes closed and her head resting against the windowsill.

She must sense him, for her tired eyes open and find his. In the mirror, they are locked into a stare.

* * *

It's well past midnight, and it's pouring down on them.

Arya is driving, completely at ease behind the wheel, despite the fact that a storm is raging outside. The rain splatters violently onto the window and the wipers work fast to wipe it away.

Jon is stretched out in the backseat, snoring softly. Lightning strikes rather loudly, but his roommate does not stir. Gendry doesn't bother suggesting they stop at another hotel for the night until the storm passes. Arya would only insist that there was no need.

He can tell something is on her mind. The way she kept biting her lip, drumming her fingers across the wheel… all nervous habits of hers that Gendry has picked up.

He doesn't ask what was wrong, or what she was thinking about, because he figured Arya would tell him if she wanted him to know.

"Gendry?"

"Yeah?"

"I just…" She looks away, and Gendry sees color rising to her cheeks. Was she _blushing_?

"Sometimes I feel like you're watching me." She finally says it. Her embarrassment seems lost, and looks at him with purely curious eyes.

"Oh." He can't breathe; panic has closed in on him. He thinks he must be the one blushing now. "Well," he swallows, and forces himself to look into her eyes. "Sometimes I feel like you're watching me too."

He holds his breath for a response. But it never comes.

The car suddenly cries out in exhaustion. She tears her eyes away from him in confusion. It rattles until it comes to a complete stop.

Jon, forced awake, sits up in the back. "Why are we stopping?"

"Umm," Arya bites her lip. "We may have just run out of petrol."

* * *

"Arya…" Jon holds his face in his hands, "Just… why didn't you get any petrol?"

"I didn't know we needed it."

"How didn't you…" Jon shakes his head, exasperated. "Fucking hell, Arya… we're stranded during a fucking thunderstorm!"

"Hey, this isn't all my fault! You should be fucking grateful I'm here to help with the driving! This is your road trip, Jon! Your car. And you were passed out in the back—"

"Yeah, so it's your fucking responsibility to make sure we don't run out of fucking petrol!"

"Christ… okay! I'm fucking sorry, alright? I wasn't paying attention."

Gendry sits there awkwardly in the passenger seat as the two siblings attempt to tear each other's throats out. He feels bad that Arya is getting all the blame. He could have fucking remembered to get some fucking petrol himself. "I'm sorry too," he clears his throat. "Neither of us were paying attention."

Jon grits his teeth and finally sighs. "I'm going to go try and find a petrol station."

"Out in this?"

"Jon, are you fucking crazy?" Arya exclaims. "Who knows how far-"

"I don't care." Jon opens the door, and the rain dribbles onto the interior. "We're already behind. I need to get to fucking Starfall. I need to meet my fucking mother."

He slams the door behind him, and leaves Gendry and Arya frozen in place with mouths agape.

* * *

They are freezing. There isn't any heat and it's the middle of a December night.

He keeps his hands buried deep in his jacket pockets and tries to push the cold out of his mind. Arya holds herself with her knees drawn up, for warmth or comfort, he wasn't sure. Every time she breathes, he can see it in the cold air.

"He's going to be okay."

She faces him at his words. In the smallest voice he's ever heard from her, she asks, "What if he's not?"

"He will be," Gendry assures. "He'll come back with the petrol and then we'll be back on the road."

She sighs and rubs her hands along her arms. "It's so fucking cold."

Gendry can't help the smile on his face. Arya glares at him. "What exactly is so fucking funny about me freezing my ass off?"

"It's just… you're from the North."

"Yeah, it's fucking cold there too!"

"Well I guess I just assumed you'd be used to it."

"There is such thing as a heater, Gendry."

"Okay, okay."

She grumbles something under her breath that sounds faintly of "southerners".

"Hey," Gendry realizes. "It started snowing."

They both look out the window, and Arya's mood seems to change instantaneously.

"I bet it's snowing back home too," she smiles. "When you moved to Winterfell, was that the first time you saw snow?"

"No," he answers. He stares at his numb hands with a sad smile, thinking back. "When I was about nine or ten… It was just a dusting, really, but I remember thinking it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I just sat outside all day. My mum kept telling me to come inside, afraid I would freeze to death. But I wouldn't..." he trails off and laughs softly under his breath, "eventually she just gave up and came out to sit with me." He finally looks back up to Arya with a grin. "Brought me hot chocolate, too."

"Your mum sounds really great."

"Yeah, yeah, she was."

Arya's smile falters. "Is she…"

"Yeah." He stares at his feet. "When I was eleven."

Why is he sharing this with Arya? He never willingly offered anyone this information. He didn't want her to pity him. He waits for the apology and that sad, sympathy filled look he's so familiar with...

"That _bastard_."

Gendry's eyebrows rise at Arya's venomous words. That was not at all what he was expecting.

"Your mother died and he just leaves you to fend for your fucking self! He didn't even fucking tell anyone that he had another son!"

"I'm better off," Gendry insists. "And most people knew in King's Landing. My uncle, Renly, took me in."

"My dad didn't know." Her eyes are on fire, her tone adamant. "My dad wouldn't let him fucking leave you. Or your mum."

Gendry simply stays silent. He doesn't know if Eddard Stark is aware of him or not. But he assumes he is, because he's seen him in his parents' wedding photos. He was best man.

The back door is suddenly swung open, startling the both of them. Jon is back, smiling and with the petrol in hand.

"There was a station just a block away! Who knew?"


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: So Jon is 21 (and not his first year of uni like I originally intended- I don't think I actually established this, so I think it's okay that I make him older now) Robb is 20. Gendry is 19. Sansa is 18. Arya is 16. Bran is 14. Rickon is 8. ****Thought I would clarify!**

**Anyway, as always, thank you for reading!**

* * *

They run out of food so they are forced to make a quick stop at a passing shop.

Jon and Gendry load up with more crisps, granola bars, and bottled water. And Oreos, just because everyone agrees they sound good.

Arya wanders off to the bakery and finds some lemon cakes. She buys them on whim because they remind her of home. On the way to checkout, she makes a quick detour through the pharmaceutical aisle and picks out some kind of proper cream for Gendry's injuries.

They are in the backseat. She sits on her knees, her thigh touching his, and hands holding his head. Her finger gently rubs the cream along all the damage done to his face.

She is reminded of the night they shared a bed. Of the way her fingers had mapped out the red marks along his skin. Of his arms around her and her head on his shoulder.

Their faces are in such close proximity. Her thumb strokes the stubble on his jaw (she suspects he did not pack a razor for the trip). There is no bruising there; it is just an impulsive touch. Their eyes are locked into a stare.

He is all around her. He's all she sees, all she hears, all she smells, all she feels.

She wants to kiss him.

And maybe, just maybe, he wants her to.

But no. Jon is watching. And she isn't drunk this time. And neither is he.

* * *

"Arya."

She wakes at the sound of her whispered name.

"We're here," Gendry whispers.

Her hand reaches up to rub her tired eyes. She realizes that her head is resting against Gendry's shoulder, and quickly moves to shift away from him.

Her cheeks color as Jon watches them suspiciously through the rear view mirror. "Where is 'here'?"

"Starfall."

"What, really? How long was I out?"

Gendry answers, "Almost six hours."

"I've never seen you sleep so well, little sister."

He knows. He _fucking _knows.

What exactly does he know? She doesn't even know!

Arya convinces herself that she's just being paranoid, and decides to change the subject. "So, um," she clears her throat. "Are we going to stop at a hotel or just drop in on your mum in the middle of the night?"

Jon rolls his eyes. But she sees the small quirk of Gendry's lips.

* * *

Everyone is exhausted, except for Arya, who probably could have skipped the six hour nap.

She takes the opportunity to have a shower. Jon or Gendry is usually first to the bathroom, leaving her with lukewarm to cold water, but the both of them are passed out in bed.

The water was hot (for once) and she savored the feel of it kissing her skin. She squeezes out some of the complimentary shampoo into her palm and begins to scrub it through her hair.

Her mind wanders and she thinks about Jon. He will meet his biological mother tomorrow. Maybe she'll know why their father lied to them. Perhaps they would already know if Jon would just agree to talk to him, but her stubborn brother continues to refuse.

Growing up, all Arya knew about Ashara Dayne was: her name, that she was Jon's mother, and that she was dead.

She remembers being so confused when she was little, having a brother that didn't share the same mother. Despite her curiosity, Arya didn't ask many questions, because whenever she did, (even as young as she was) she was able to sense her parents' discomfort.

She managed to pick up a few things over the years. Sansa told her that their father's relationship with Ashara was a rocky one, and were broken up before she even realized the pregnancy. When Ashara finally told Dad about Jon, he was already engaged to their mother. "He couldn't abandon the mother of his child," Sansa told her like it was the most romantic thing she's ever heard, "but he couldn't abandon Mum either."

Robb told her that Ashara Dayne died in a hit-and-run, while pregnant with Jon. They managed to save their brother, but not his mother. "She was crossing the road," Robb had said, "Some crazy just ran her right over. Never caught him." A month later, Mum was pregnant with Robb.

Arya never asked Jon anything about it.

Arya hopes her brother is okay. When they spoke that night back in Winterfell, when he asked her to come on the road with him… Jon had never scared her more. She remembers his bewildered eyes, the way he sounded constantly on the brink of screaming out in anger or breaking down crying…

Hopefully he won't freak out tomorrow. Hopefully everything goes smoothly.

She turns off the water and steps out. Arya wraps herself in a towel and uses another, smaller one to dry out her hair. After combing through the tangles with her fingers, she dresses in the shorts and t-shirt she brought with her in the bathroom.

She opens the door as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake either of them. Well, mostly Gendry. Jon can sleep through almost anything.

Her eyebrows furrow when she sees that Gendry isn't in his bed. The comforter is thrown back and she can still see the indention of his head in the pillow.

She scans the room and finds him already asleep on the sofa, beneath a blanket that has mysteriously disappeared from Jon's bed.

Realization washes over her. He moved so she could have the bed.

She wants to demand that he take the bed back, to insist that she could survive sleeping on the sofa for one night. But his peaceful, sleeping form makes her decide against it. She doesn't want to wake him.

Arya smiles to herself softly as she crawls beneath the covers. It still smells like him.

* * *

"Jon—"

"No, I-I can't do this. I can't."

She hears a zipper being done up, or undone, she can't tell. Jon words are panicky and breathless. Gendry tries to keep his voice calm.

Arya props herself up in the bed as her sleep ridden eyes scan the scene around her.

Her brother is franticly pacing around the room to find clothes to throw into his suitcase. Gendry sighs as he stands out of the way, running a hand through his hair.

"What's going on?" Jon doesn't answer her, and instead only continues to gather his belongings. "What're you doing?" She's out of bed now, and practically tugging the clothes out of Jon's hands. "Jon! We can't go now, not after—"

"I can't, Arya. This was a mistake—"

"No, Jon! The real mistake would be not to go, to leave yourself wondering for the rest of your life!"

She almost feels bad for yelling, but Jon softens. It worked. He sits on the bed and rubs the back of his neck. He looks up to her with most pained expression she's ever seen him wear. "I can't."

Arya sighs and puts a reassuring hand to his shoulder. "You can."

* * *

They park in silence.

"…are you sure this is the right address?"

"Yeah." Jon recites the scribbles words on the slip of paper clutched in his fist, "Ashara Dayne. 236 Palestone Drive."

"But," Arya starts. "It's a—"

"Yeah, I know."

"Did you know-?"

"No."

It's the last thing any of them expected.

Jon's birthmother resides in a mental hospital.

Her brother opens the car door and begins to slide out.

"Do you want us to-?"

"No. I need to do this alone."

The door shuts and Jon is gone. She shares a concerned glance with Gendry. "I guess you were right," Arya tells him.

"What do you mean?"

"That Dad was trying to protect us." She shakes her head and gnaws on her bottom lip. "Gendry, I shouldn't have forced him to come today…"

"Hey." He reaches for her from the back, sitting on the very edge of the seat. His hand settles on hers.

She freezes at the touch. For a second, the only thing she can feel is the warmth of his hand. His fingers nudge apart hers, and thread themselves through. "This isn't your fault. You didn't know. And this was his decision in the end."

When she looks into his eyes, it's impossible to protest. She slowly nods, and feels her anxiety dissipate.

Arya doesn't let go of his hand.

Not until Jon comes back.

She misses his touch as soon as it's gone. She can still feel where his fingers stroked the back of her hand.

Jon starts the car in silence. Arya and Gendry don't pressure him. They are already on the highway by the time he speaks.

"She's…. slightly prone to suicide."

"I'm so sorry, Jon," Arya rushes out a stream of apologies. "I didn't know—"

"It's not your fault she tried to kill herself six times, is it?" He smiles sadly at her. "You don't need to be sorry, little sister." He pauses for a moment, looking out the window. "I'm glad I came," he concedes. "I'm glad I know."

* * *

The drive back to Winterfell is uneventful. The tension never seems to leave the car. Jon is completely lost in his own thoughts. Gendry is unusually quiet, and so is she.

Jon suddenly stops the car. Arya double checks their surroundings, and indeed finds they are not home, but instead at the university. "Aren't you going to take me home first?"

"No, I need to talk to Dad alone. Just stay here for a bit. And then Gendry can drive you home."

"Um," Gendry chimes in. "I don't have a car."

"Oh yeah. Okay, so I'll come back and get you later."

Arya is tired. She's been on the road for too long. She wants to go home. She wants to sleep in her own bed. "Jon, no—"

"Please, Arya."

She grits her teeth at his pleading eyes. "Fucking hell," she grumbles as she swings the door open. "Fine."

"I promise I'll make it up to you, okay?"

Gendry follows suit, dragging his belongings out from the passenger seat with him. It reminds her of her own suitcase. Jon is driving away and she shouts after him to take her things inside. She doesn't know if he heard or not.

Arya sighs after Jon disappears from sight. She turns to Gendry. "I need a drink."

"There's a pub down the street," Gendry shrugs. "We can walk."

She forgets that her brother just abandoned her. A small smile creeps its way onto her lips. "Alright."

"Okay, just let me go put my stuff up."


	6. Chapter 6

Going to the pub becomes an almost nightly occurrence for them. Gendry thinks the owners of The Peach must have assumed they're drunks at this point.

He orders a pint but doesn't really drink it, not after his last drunken experience. Arya will rarely finish off her own.

He admits that he's spending too much money. But it's not a waste. It's an excuse to spend time with Arya. So it's worth however much it costs him.

"Tomorrow, then?"

He shuts the car door behind her as she puts her key in the ignition. The window's down, and she turns to him with a grin. "Yeah, I'll be there."

"Good."

"Are you sure you don't want a ride?"

She asks him this every time. And his reply is always the same. "I can walk."

Arya rolls her eyes. "He's not sitting by the window waiting for your sweet return, you know."

"There's still a chance he might see."

Gendry thinks it will be too suspicious, if Jon happens to see his little sister drop him off. His roommate doesn't know where he disappears to every night, and both he and Arya agree that it's better that way.

But she thinks he's being just a little too paranoid. "Whatever you say, Gendry." She shakes her head, and puts her car into drive. "Don't get mugged."

"I won't," Gendry laughs.

She grins back. "'Night, then."

"'Night."

* * *

"I know where you've been."

Jon really was waiting for his sweet return.

Gendry is left speechless. Eventually, he manages, "Umm… what?"

Jon is going to beat him up, he thinks. He is going to beat him up because he's taking his little sister to pubs, because she's too young, because he's drawn to her, because they have a connection, because he knows she's beautiful, because—

"Don't bullshit me, Gendry. Okay? I know you've been out with Arya."

Gendry's heart stops. Panic courses through him. "How-?"

"It's possible that I followed you."

"You what?"

"That's beside the point, Gendry!" Jon sighs. "She's only sixteen."

That's only three years younger than him, he wants to say. But he doesn't think that will help his case. "I know. But it's not like that, Jon."

He doesn't know if he's lying or not. He doesn't really understand how Arya makes him feel. But he knows that he's never felt something so intense. Nothing like this. Ever.

But most of all, he has no idea what is going through Arya's head.

"She's never had a relationship before."

"We're just friends," he insists.

"Promise me."

Gendry is trapped. He swallows the guilt, thick in his throat. "I promise."

* * *

The next night, Gendry slips on his jacket, ready to meet Arya. Jon is not there, and for that he is grateful. His roommate would only make things awkward.

He is almost out the door, when his phone buzzes violently in his pocket. His eyebrows crease at the unknown number. "Hello?"

"Gendry."

The man's voice is strained on the other line. It's vaguely familiar, but he can't quite place it.

"Who's this?"

"Loras Tyrell," he answers.

Gendry hasn't heard from Loras Tyrell in a while. After Renly and Loras' original split (when Loras moved out), the couple got back together several more times over the years. And then eventually they would just break up again. It's an endless cycle.

The last time Gendry remembers is last July, when he stumbled sleepily into the kitchen for some cereal and found Loras and Renly making eggs.

Two weeks later, they had a massive fight that Gendry unsuccessfully tried to tune out with headphones. As far as he knows, they haven't spoken since.

"Did you guys get back together again?"

There is a muffled sob on the other line. "Loras, what's wrong?"

"Gendry… it's Renly."

* * *

Arya changes her outfit three times before settling on black jeans and her favorite long sleeve t-shirt.

She stands in front of her full length mirror, eyeing her reflection. She supposes she doesn't look half-bad. The jeans hug her hips well enough.

Arya knows she's not ugly, but growing up with Sansa, she was never _pretty _like her sister was.

Arya is too thin, her face too long. She doesn't have Sansa's curves, or her bright blue eyes. Her hair is Stark brown, not Tully red. When Arya cut it short, her sister called it a travesty.

She has always been overlooked. And usually, she embraced it. Arya is used to blending in, to being plain.

But there is something about Gendry. It made her act in all sorts of weird ways. Arya wonders if she wants him to notice her, to think that she's pretty.

She's accepted that she … feels something for him. Something she's never felt before. It confuses her to no end.

There is a knock at her door. "Yeah?"

Robb enters with a grin. She attacks him with a hug. "Robb, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Well, that's what happens when you go off on road trips without telling anyone," he teases.

"I've been back nearly two weeks, Robb." She shakes her head and pulls away from him. "So, how's work? How's Jeyne?"

"Both good. Jeyne's downstairs with Mum and Dad. Thought I'd come up and say hi."

Robb dropped out of uni last year. Her parents had been disappointed, especially Dad. Every Stark male went to Stark University. Which is why he felt forced to enroll, like it was his duty as a Stark. Then he met Jeyne, and she made him forget.

She lives three hours away from Winterfell, which Robb always complained was too far. It wasn't long before he was dropping out of school and moving in with her instead. Jeyne's father is the owner of Westerling Cars. They make luxury sports vehicles to compensate for the common middle-aged man's usually dick related insecurities. She got him a job in sales.

Arya still sees him frequently. Robb usually comes home on Sundays, which is the Stark family's dinner night. "Shit," she realizes. "Is today Sunday?"

Robb tries not to laugh. "Arya, how do you forget the day of the week?"

"I don't fucking know! I just did." She bites her lip. "Do you think they'll be mad if I don't go tonight?"

"Probably. Why?"

Dammit. "I sort of made plans."

"Really? You made plans?"

Arya wonders if she should be offended by his disbelief. "Yeah," she nods. "Gonna go… out with some friends." _A friend. _One friend.

Robb's lips are pursed. "Have you got a date or something?"

"No!"

"Arya," Robb is still laughing at her immediate denial, "you never willing socialize with your school friends outside of school."

"That's not true! I went out with Hot Pie and Weasel a couple times!"

"Yeah, 'cause they were having a special! Half-priced beer and all you can eat chips."

"Whatever," she tells him. "It's not a fucking date."

"It's definitely a date," Robb teases. "So, who is it? Do I know him?"

"No one," she growls. She grabs her jacket, heading for the door. "I'm leaving now."

"Mum's going to be pissed."

"This is the first time I've ever missed a family dinner. She'll survive."

They go downstairs together. Robb goes into the living room, hoping to be enough distraction that she can slip out unnoticed. She gives her brother strict instructions to make up some excuse, and not to mention anything about a "date", because it isn't a date anyway.

She sees the whole family is there. Bran, Rickon, Sansa, and Jon included. She notes that he sits as far away as he can from their father. From the way he nurses his beer, she figures he is still angry with him.

Robb engages the family into conversation, and Arya leaves undetected.

* * *

Arya sits at their usual booth, tapping her fingers against the wooden table. Where is he?

He's usually there before her.

Fifteen minutes pass, and she checks her phone for any messages.

There is none.

Ten more minutes pass, and she sighs and orders another pint.

Twenty mintues pass, and she is fucking angry. She downs her glass and leaves.

Arya slams her car door as she slides into the leathered seat. She gets the engine running and hastily pulls out of The Peach.

Why did he stand her up? Why didn't he fucking call? Why couldn't he send her a fucking text with a simple 'hey, I can't make it tonight'? Why did he let her sit alone for an hour, pathetically waiting for him to show?

She intends to find out, and makes the turn leading to the dorms.

It isn't until she parks that Arya wonders if she should have been driving. She is slightly drunk and very pissed. Too late now, she thinks.

She storms up the stairs and doesn't knock, but instead simply barges in. She knows that neither of them ever locks their fucking door. Idiots.

Her anger disappears as soon as she sees him.

Gendry sits on the foot of his bed, his head in his hands. He looks up when she enters. His face is full of disbelief, wet with tears. "My uncle's dead… there was a car accident…"

She is bound for him an instant. On the bed, her legs are drawn up beneath her. His eyes are glued to his feet. She reaches a hesitant hand to his hair, and runs her fingers through.

He looks up again, and his eyes meet hers. He locks her in another one of those stares that leave her breathless and make her heart race a mile a minute.

His hand reaches up to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face, and eventually settles on the back of her head. And then he's inching closer, and his lips are on hers.

She is frozen in place. His lips are tender against hers, gently brushing. It lasts only a second; she barely has time to close her eyes.

A shiver runs down her spine, and gooseflesh covers her skin. She can still feel his lips.

Her eyes are dazed and dark, lost deep in his gaze. Suddenly, his mouth is over hers again.

This kiss isn't gentle. It's demanding and full of need. She feels his tongue, and accepts it eagerly. He pulls her onto his lap so that she is straddling him. She gasps into his mouth when she can feel him hard beneath her. His hands are everywhere. They wander underneath her shirt, running up her bare sides, leaving her skin ablaze in their wake. Any hint of coherent thought is lost. She is lost in his kisses.

And then his touch is gone. He is gone. She has been moved aside and is now on the bed alone.

Gendry is up and already halfway out the door. "I'm sorry, I can't."

Stunned into silence, she watches him leave. What… happened?

He doesn't want her. His uncle… He wasn't thinking right. He just needed to be with someone. He needed some kind of comfort… that's all it was.

He doesn't want her.

* * *

In fear of her family noticing, she is careful to wipe away any stray tears before unlocking the front door. All Arya wants is to go to bed without an interrogation.

But of course, as soon as she enters, her mother hears the door open and calls her into the kitchen.

They have finished dinner, and her parents are doing the dishes. Bran and Sansa sit at the bar. Her eldest brothers sit at the table, Jeyne settled close to Robb. Rickon is probably in bed.

"Did you pick up your friend okay?" her mother asks. "What's his name? Hot Pie? It's awful about his car."

Arya glances over at Robb, who smiles slyly. "Uh, yeah. He's fine."

Her father's concerned gaze is unmoving and fixed on her, studying. "Everything alright, little wolf?"

"Yeah, just tired. It was a lot to deal with. Hot Pie was freaking out." She tries to ignore Jon's suspicious glare. "Do you mind if I go up to bed?"

"Yeah, of course," Dad replies.

She leaves the kitchen and heads for her room. She is about to go upstairs, when she hears Jon's voice behind her. "Arya."

She tries to ignore it, but his hand is on her arm. "You've been crying."

She turns to face him. "No. I haven't. Now please let me—"

"What did he do to you?"

She freezes. He knows. Arya is angry at Gendry, but he's still her friend. She would still protect him. "What? Who-?"

"I know, Arya." She grinds her teeth. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," she glares, twisting the arm that is caught in his angry, increasingly tight grip. "But you are."

Jon softens and immediately releases her. "I'm sorry," he looks at her with apologetic, pleading eyes. "Please just tell me what happened."

"Nothing." She hates how small her voice sounds. She hates that she's struggling not to cry again. "His uncle died, the one that took him in. He's really broken up about it."

"Fuck," Jon sighs. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know."

Jon leaves to go check on Gendry. Arya doesn't tell him that he might not be at the dorms. She retreats upstairs to her bedroom. Eagerly, she strips off the clothes that smell like him before falling into bed.

As she submits to sleep, she remembers the way his hands felt on her skin, the way his lips molded onto hers. In the morning, she tries to forget.


	7. Chapter 7

It's been a week, and Arya hasn't heard from Gendry. She knows from Jon that he's flown out to King's Landing for the funeral.

Sometimes she just wants to stay home, and sometimes she just can't be there for another moment.

And whatever she's doing, she can't be busy enough. She almost wants school to start back up again.

One night, she is so desperate she even goes to a party with Hot Pie. A very drunk Edric Dayne is there and tries to kiss her, assuming there would be a repeat of the last time they attended the same party. Unsurprisingly, she is overcome with the need to be home again. So she promptly leaves three hours early.

Her parents are worried about her. They know something is wrong. They ask her questions that she refuses to answer.

Bran doesn't, because he knows that's the last thing she needs. Rickon is completely clueless that anything is amiss, but what do you expect? He's eight.

Sometimes Bran will join her on the sofa and watch the TV in silence. It's the most comfort she's received.

"I love you, Bran," she tells him once.

"Okay, weirdo."

* * *

Gendry walks back to his car alone after burying Renly. Loras refuses to leave the grave, no matter how many times Gendry tells him that he could not stay all night. Eventually, Gendry gave up.

There was a nice turnout. But Gendry knows that half of these people didn't know, or care about, Renly. The Lannisters were in attendance, unfortunately, in place for Robert.

"He's just too upset to come," his father's current wife Cersei told him.

More like too drunk, he had wanted to say. But he bit his tongue.

He is in his car now. The silence is too much, too empty. Too lonely. Before he even knows what he's doing, he is pulling out his phone.

"Hello?"

He forgets to breathe when he hears her sleep muddled voice. After composing himself, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Gendry." His name is soft on her tongue, and he knows she's awake now. No one says anything for a moment.

He is staring out the window, out at Renly's grave, out at Loras on his knees above it. "I wish you were here," he admits.

"I would've come, you know," Arya says. "If you'd asked."

"I know."

There is silence. And then finally, he hears her strained voice on the other line. "Gendry?"

"Yeah?"

"Please come home."

"I will."

* * *

His plane lands in Winterfell the next day. Jon greets him with at the airport with concerned eyes and a clap on the shoulder. "Glad to have you back, Gendry," he says.

Jon drops him at the dorms. He has apparently has met someone, and is off to a date. This conveniently leaves all the unpacking to Gendry.

When it's done, he showers and changes into fresh clothes. He walks to the bus stop and rides to Arya's neighborhood. He decides he really needs to find a way to bring his car up from King's Landing.

When the bus comes to a halt, Gendry walks the remaining block to her house. He rings the doorbell. As he waits, the nerves finally set in. What is she's pissed? What if she tells him to fuck off? What if—

A boy with shaggy red hair and blue eyes answers. He looks about fourteen. _Bran._

"Umm, hi. Is Arya home?"

* * *

Arya has brushed her teeth, changed into her favorite oversized sleep shirt, and undone her bed, ready to crawl beneath the covers. Turning off her lamp, there is a knock at the door. "Yes?"

She hears the door click open, and turns around to see who it is. She is frozen.

"Gendry."

Their eyes meet. A million emotions rush over her all at once. She struggles to sort through them all.

"I'm sorry—"

"Why'd you do it? Why did you make me think…" She swallows. "Why did you just leave?"

"I'm sorry I left like that. I'm sorry I…" His voice is pained. "Arya, you're Jon's little sister. You're sixteen—"

"We are three fucking years apart!" She feels the anger boil over. "Three fucking years, so don't you fucking dare use that as an excuse!"

"I—"

"Do you know how it felt," she says, "do you know how it felt when you kissed me, when you made me think you wanted me, and then pushed me aside like I was nothing?"

He is suddenly in front of her, and his hand is on her cheek. He is brushing away tears that she doesn't remember falling. "Arya, don't fucking think that. Not even for a second. I've never wanted someone in my life as much as I want you."

She bravely meets his stare, her fierce eyes unmoving, matching his intensity. "Neither have I."

Their faces are so close, and all she wants to do is close the distance. She inches forwards until her lips press against his. She does it again.

"I can't," he says, pained. "I can't."

"You can."

She kisses him again, and again, and again, until he's moaning into her mouth.

Arya has to be on the very tip of her toes to reach him. She reckons she would fall if it weren't for Gendry's steadying hands, holding her safely in place.

Her hands are in his hair, tugging him closer, deepening the kiss even further. His fingers trail down her spine until he meets the small of her back, sending chills along the way.

Suddenly, her feet are off the ground. The kiss is broken as her breath hitches in surprise. She watches him as he lays her gently onto bed.

His face hovers over hers, and her hesitant fingers reach to trace his jaw, his lips, everywhere he took a hit. The bruises and cuts are healed, but she remembers them.

She looks back up at him, biting her lip. His eyes are dark with desire, light with hesitance.

Her hand moves to the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. This is what she wants. She explores the muscles along his back as their lips meet again.

This is what they both want.

He kisses down her neck. His hand moves past her hip to her exposed thigh. He guides her leg further up over his side, aligning them perfectly. She moans at being so close to him and wants to rub herself against him. Her eyes fall shut as she revels in the feel of his lips.

He begins to inch up her sleep shirt, over her hips, beginning to expose her underwear and stomach. "Is this okay?"

She nods. "Yeah." Her voice is breathless.

He slowly pulls the shirt over her head. She is left bare from the waist up. She forgets to feel embarrassed as his hands and lips are on her chest. When his hot mouth moves all along her breasts, kissing and licking and teasing, Arya can't help but shudder and fidget to rub against him, searching for friction.

He continues his trail of kisses down her stomach. He watches her for any sign of discomfort as his fingers hook into her underwear.

Her heart flutters in a fit of nerves and anticipation. She can't handle the warmth, the ache. When he finally rubs a finger to her sensitive flesh, it only intensifies.

She gasps and squirms beneath him, wanting more. He slips a finger inside her. Her head falls to side with a strangled moan as he moves within her, adding a second finger. His thumb brushes against the bundle of nerves above her opening. Pressure builds inside her. She is coming onto the edge.

He won't let her go over. "Just wait," he whispers, kissing her ear. "Trust me."

He is out of his jeans, and his arousal is pressed against her center. Gendry kisses her, his lips lingering before moving all along her cheeks, her jaw, her neck… She gasps as she feels him slowly push inside her.

Arya tenses. He kisses her until she relaxes. When she adjusts, he begins to move inside her. She gasps in pleasure and grips his shoulders. She arches her back, and his lips drag across her neck.

It is all consuming. She cannot think, she can only feel. She moves with him, kissing his jaw, whispering soft encouragements.

His movements grow more desperate and their pace increases. Her head is buried in his shoulder, muffling her breathless and strangled moans. The pressure is building again and she feels her body tightening.

She gasps as she finally falls over the edge. She feels it everywhere. To her heat, to her core, to her fingertips… it is everywhere.

Gendry is fast to follow. With a moan, he collapses above her.  
His lips find hers and kiss tenderly.

Later, Arya is settled comfortably in the crook of Gendry's shoulder. He plays with her hair and lets his fingers rub circles at the small of her waist. She is still smiling softly to herself. She hasn't stopped.

"Have you ever…"

She's doesn't know why he's asking. He obviously knew the answer, or he wouldn't have been so slow with her, wouldn't have thought she needed time to adjust.

Blood rushes to her cheeks, and her eyes look everywhere but his. "You know I haven't."

"I didn't know. I just assumed," he answers. "Jon said you've never had a boyfriend before."

"Oh." She hesitantly looks up. "Does it weird you out?"

"No, I'm just happy I got laid."

She sits up in disbelief, shaking her head. Gendry's grinning, and she's grinning back. "Stupid," Arya tells him, shoving his chest. He bursts out laughing. She does it again, and gasps as Gendry suddenly pulls her onto his lap. They are both breathless, their lips almost touching. He closes the distance.

* * *

Her parents are at an alumni event for the university. They aren't expected home until late, but she and Gendry are already cutting it close.

They reluctantly disentangle themselves and dress, then head downstairs. She walks him out, and they make plans to meet at the pub tomorrow.

Bran shoots her knowing looks as soon as the door is shut. "Have you really been moping over a guy this past week?"

"Shut up," she blushes. "It's not like that."

"Whatever. Please don't be so loud next time."

"Bran!"

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! Half of this was smut, wasn't it? Well, I would be lying if I said there wasn't more in the next chapter, but something BIG and very plot driven will also happen...**

**Sorry to tease you. Anyway, I think I'm going to start putting out 2 chapters a week. One on Saturday and the other on Wednesday. Most of this story is done. I just have write one more chapter and edit all the rest.**


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as they are out the pub's door, his lips are on hers. She meets his fervent demand with her own. His tongue sends shivers down her spine. She will never be used to how a single kiss can ignite so much fire within her.

He is surprised as she shoves him into the backseat of her car. She surprises herself as she unbuttons his jeans and guides him inside her.

His hands are on her hips. Her own are on the seat to keep her balance. Arya rocks against him until they're both breathless and shaking, finding their release.

When her breath steadies, she moves to his side. "I can't believe I've just fucked in the car park."

"I can't believe you've just fucked me in the car park."

They both laugh. "It's not my first choice," she says. "But there really isn't anywhere else."

Gendry realizes, "I know somewhere."

"Really? Where?"

The way Gendry smiles, she knows he decides this in that very moment, "It's a surprise."

Her eyes narrow. Determination sets in. She inches closer to him. She is practically in his lap again. Her lips are almost brushing his as she whispers, "I bet I can get you to tell." His eyes watch her lips as they move.

She presses them to corner of his mouth. "Arya…" Her hand travels down his chest. He catches it, and looking pained, "Can you please just let it be a surprise? I promise it'll be worth it."

She rolls her eyes. "Fine," she relents.

The smile he gives her then is already worth it.

* * *

Gendry insists Arya let him drive, so not to spoil the surprise. She does not put up a verbal fight, but her eyes shoot daggers before she tosses him the keys.

He watches her eyes. They are intent on the road, following every turn they make, studying the blur of passing trees and civilization. She searched for any hint of their destination.

"Close your eyes."

Arya looks to him playfully. "Why?" she asks, sly. "Will I know where we're going?"

"Maybe."

"Have I been here before?"

"If I answer, will you close your eyes?"

She considers this, chewing her bottom lip. "Yes."

"It's very possible that you've been here before." Before she can get another question out, he says, "Now close your eyes."

Arya sticks her tongue out at him before complying.

* * *

She is leading him now. Her face is a mix of joy and surprise as she winds them through the trees. The excitement is vibrating off of her, she is practically skipping. He has never thought he would see Arya Stark skip.

"We used to come here as kids…" her voice is winded. She comes to a halt, turning on her heels to face him, smiling. "How'd you know?"

"Jon may have mentioned it."

The Godswood is an old park, fraught with walking trails, and known for its beautiful weirwoods. It's enormous. If you could find the right entrances (like he did, thanks to the internet and a printed out park map), and delve deep enough into the woods, no one would bother you.

They could be completely alone.

They end up against a weirwood, her legs around him, and his lips caressing every inch of her skin. Her hands grip him tight, her hips move rough with his. In his ear, she whispers _more_. Her eyes close as he feels her tighten around him. Arya coming undone sends him right over the edge.

Gendry has had sex with a total of two other people in his life. The first was a petite blonde named Meena who went to school with him in King's Landing. She would always blush whenever he spoke two words to her. It was awkward when they were together. Neither really knew what to do yet.

The second was Jeyne Heddle. He'd known her since they were both children. Her mother ran all sorts of charities, and happened to be a good friend of Renly's. Gendry was very fond of Jeyne. Maybe he even loved her, but not in the way she loved him. What he felt was never enough. Not for either of them. Gendry always felt guilty when he was with Jeyne. It felt wrong. Because it was. Even if she had been fully aware of his differing feelings.

But it is different with Arya. It isn't awkward. It doesn't feel wrong. Nothing could feel more right. Gendry doesn't think that he has ever experience something so intense or intimate. He completely loses himself in her. Just the feel of her lips drive him insane.

Gendry guesses that he drives her insane too, from her demanding kisses to all the little sounds she makes, to the way her hurried hands roughly undress him, or how she'll rock her eager hips against him. Arya can be so impatient. He likes teasing her. He likes setting her eyes ablaze. He likes that look of pure pleasure, once she has finally gotten what she wanted. He likes the way they will remain entwined after. The way they will hold each other.

Their foreheads rest on the other as they catch their breath.

"So," he starts. "Did you like my surprise?"

"Gendry, this…" she trails off. Her cheeks color to a pretty pink. "This was… perfect."

They head back to the car when the sun is setting and they can't take the cold any longer. Arya is happy to be back in the driver's seat. They drive in a comfortable silence, the radio playing softly. They hold hands the entire way, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing circles into her palm. Neither acknowledges it.

The car stops. He doesn't move to get out of the car. He doesn't want to leave.

He watches Arya turn to him with a small smile. "We should go again tomorrow," she breaks the silence. "You know, if it's not too cold."

"Yeah," Gendry agrees with a smile of his own. Their eyes remain locked for a moment, and then Arya is leaning in to kiss him. He tells himself that Jon could be lurking around and might see. But her eyes are entrancing and he craves the taste of her lips.

His phone buzzes obnoxiously, pulling Gendry out of his stupor. He looks down as he pulls the phone out of his jacket pocket. He hears Arya's huff of annoyance.

"It's Jon," Gendry says as he reads the text. "He says he's on a date and it's going well so far, and that I shouldn't worry if he doesn't return tonight." His brow rises in amusement, "Well he's a bit sure of himself, isn't he?"

Arya's curiosity is immediately perked. "Jon's seeing someone?"

"Yeah he's been out with her a couple of time before," Gendry answers. "I don't know who… She has red hair. That's all Jon will tell me."

"Hmm," is all that she says for a moment. "Well I guess I can't be mad at him for not telling me. You know, considering."

"Yeah," Gendry says, trying to ignore the guilt in the pit of stomach. _We're just friends_, he had told his roommate. _I promise. _"So," he shakes it off. "Since we're not expecting Jon anytime soon, do you want to come up?"

Her eyes flash with surprise. Then a soft mile pulls at her lips. "Yeah," she replies. "Okay."

* * *

The lights are all out, but his eyes have adjusted and he sees her well.

They are in his tiny twin-sized bed. She wears one of his t-shirts. It swallows her whole and almost reaches her knees. Beneath the blankets, he feels the warmth radiating from her body. Her breath is soft and steady against his chest. His fingers brush back her hair.

He thinks she is asleep until she whispers his name. "Gendry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you… do you feel bad about Jon? About lying?"

"Sometimes, yeah," he answers honestly. "Why? Do you?"

"Yeah," she breathes out after a moment. "I mean… not really until you told me about this girl he's seeing. We used to tell each other everything. I don't know when that stopped." She pauses in thought. "This… we just have to keep it from him. I feel bad but… it's worth it," Arya bites her lip, looking up at him unsure eyes, "right?"

He doesn't like her uncertainty, the tinge of fear in her eyes. Gendry cups her face and refuses to break away from her stare. "Of course it's worth it, Arya. You are… so special to me. You…" He thinks how to put it in words. "Do you remember that night at the hotel? When Jon was just in the other room and you asked me to stay? And I did, because you asked. You make get drunk and fight men twice my size, you make me fuck in car parks… I never know what I'm going to do around you. You bring something out in me. Something different… but it's good. Sometime chaos isn't a bad thing. Sometimes it's just real.

There is something special in you, Arya. You brighten everyone's lives around you. _You _are worth it. You are worth anything."

Her eyes are tender now as they look into his. "Thank you," she whispers.

She reaches up to bring their lips together. He brushes back a fallen piece of hair behind her ear.

And then it hits him. It makes his stomach twist, it makes him want to smile, it makes him want to kiss her just then, it makes his heart swell to the point that it hurts. "Arya, I think I'm—"

The door clicks open, the lights flicker on. Arya rolls away.

Jon is frozen in the doorway.

And then he's not. His roommate is pulling him out of bed, anger burning in his eyes. "Jon—"

He throttles him against the wall. "You promised you wouldn't!" He shoves him again, and it hits the back of his head and pain travels down his neck.

"Jon, stop!" Arya screams. "Look what you're doing!"

He does. Guilt flashes past Jon's eyes as he lets Gendry go. But the anger has not faded and his jaw is clenched. "You _fucking _promised. You promised it wasn't like that."

"I—"

His roommate doesn't want to hear it. He simply turns on his heel and storms out of the dorm. Gendry searches the room for his jeans. "Gendry, don't—"

Gendry gives Arya an apologetic glance before running after Jon, tugging on his shirt along the way.

They end up by the road. "Jon, wait!" He grabs hold of his shoulder.

"No." He shakes him off. "You fucking lied—"

"I'm sorry I hid it from you, I am. But when you asked me about it, we hadn't… we weren't—"

"Fucking?" Gendry remains silent. Jon huffs a humorous laugh. "Christ, Gendry! How the fuck do you expect me to be okay with this? She … You're not good for her, okay? You're going to end up hurting her—"

His jaw twitches. "I would never—"

"That's how this shit always ends, Gendry! Haven't you learned that from your piece of shit father—"

"Fuck you," he spat. "At least my mother didn't try to off herself—"

Jon is lunging for him. Gendry quickly side-steps out of the way. He is in the road.  
No one sees the car coming.

* * *

No one except for Arya.

From the window, she watches. She frantically bangs her hands against the glass. At the top of her lungs she screams and cries for them to look out.

She watches the car swerve, violent. She watches it collide anyway, the glass crack at impact, and the body roll off the hood. She watches the car speed away.

She is stunned into silence.

_Jon. _


	9. Chapter 9

"… he hit him and then just… drove off."

Arya and Gendry have been sitting in the hospital waiting room for exactly 32 minutes. 32 minutes and there is no news of Jon. If he will be okay or if he ….

The cop stands above them, a notepad and pen in hand, asking question after question.

Arya's eyes are distant as she recounts the accident.

She sees it again, the initial impact, the dent in the car while it drove off. She sees the life in her brother's eyes fading, blood rushing from his forehead, his leg all distorted. Gendry's stream of apologies, his arms around her tight so she won't move him, so she won't make it worse. Crying over his broken body while the sirens neared….

"Did you get a license plate?"

"No," she hears Gendry's voice reply.

"Did you?"

Arya is pulled from her thoughts. She looks up at the police officer. "What?"

"Did you get a license plate?"

"Oh," she shakes her head. "No."

"What about the car make?"

She tries to think back, and it hurts. It hurts so much to picture that car, to picture it ramming into her brother… Her vision blurs with tears. _No. She will not cry again. She won't._

She feels Gendry's hand envelope hers. "It was a black sedan," he says. "I don't know what kind, nothing different about it, didn't look new or old, no stickers or anything…"

The cop thanks them for their time and finally fucks off. She knows he's just trying to help, but she can't handle his questions right now.

Arya will not let go of Gendry's hand, she squeezes so tightly she reckons that she's cut off his circulation. But when her parents arrive, she has to let him go.

"Arya."

She stands at her father's voice. "Dad." Her throat is tight. He wraps her into a hug. Her mother strokes her hair.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know. They won't fucking tell me anything."

For once, Mum does not chastise her for swearing.

Dad nods. "I'll go talk to them."

"It's going to be alright, dear," she assures. "Okay?"

_What if he's not?_

But Arya only sighs and nods, before sinking back into the waiting room chair.

"Arya, who's this?"

She looks up questioning, and sees her mum is referring to the strange man she just sat next to. "Oh, this is Gendry."

"Hi," he says. "I'm Jon's roommate."

"Oh, yes, I think he mentioned you…" Her mother begins a long line of pleasantries that Arya tunes out.

He has to be okay. He has to.

Her father returns soon with a doctor, wearing a grim face.

The man in scrubs begins, "I'm afraid Jon is in a coma, and it is impossible to know if he will come out anytime soon…."

Arya cannot hear the doctor's apologies, all the medical terms that fall from his lips. Soon he is gone. Her mother is crying, her father holds her…

She feels as if the wind has been knocked out of her. Her vision blurs and the world spins around her. _Jon… coma… head trauma... impossible to know if he will come out…_

She hears Gendry say her name. "Arya," he repeats. "Are you okay?"

"No."

* * *

_At least my mother didn't try to off herself…_

Gendry thinks it's the worst thing that's ever come out of his mouth.

Jon struck a nerve. _The _nerve. Robert Baratheon.

All his life, Gendry has never been able to escape him, no matter how hard he tried.

In his youngest years, he remembers being teased for having an obnoxious drunk for a father. Probably because his classmates were jealous of their money.

Later, after he left, Gendry was teased for having a dead-beat dad.

Then his mother died, and they shut up to his face. But kept on, just behind his back.

Joffrey once told Gendry that he would end up just like his father. That there was no stopping it. That it ran in his blood, he will hurt and destroy those around him. "And hell," he said. "You even look alike. Have you seen the photos from when he was young?"

Something exploded in him when Jon said that he'd hurt Arya, when he mentioned his father….

Gendry would give anything to take back what he said.

And when Jon lunged— he had it coming. And what did he do? He fucking stepped out of the way.

And now Jon is in a coma. They don't know when, or if, he will wake up. Arya is distant and far off, even though she sits right next to him. The blank stare she wears scares him.

It isn't long before the whole Stark clan is at the hospital.

Robb is the next to arrive, with him he brings Rickon and Bran (whose eyes are just as red as Arya's).

The youngest Stark sits by his mother and continues to ask what's going on. "Where is Jon?" he asks.

Sansa follows, with boyfriend Sandor Clegane. He holds her in his arms while her eyes dry.

Gendry finds himself wishing he could do the same for Arya.

* * *

It's been two hours since they have received the news of Jon's coma, and Arya hasn't spoken so much as a word to him. Her silence is off and eerie. It does not fail to disturb Gendry.

Soon they are allowed to see Jon. Gendry's stomach sinks with guilt. He wants to look away. There is a tube down his throat, a brace holds his neck in place, and his skin doesn't have a tinge of color to it, unless you count the purple bruises.

He hears Arya's breath hitch at the sight of her broken brother. His hand finds hers, and he feels her stiffen. She mumbles something about food, and leaves her family to share glances of concern and befuddlement.

Gendry follows her.

She is at the end of the empty hall, by the vending machine. Trembling, she feeds it coin and types the code for her desired crisps. "Arya?" His voice is tentative as he calls her name.

Arya remains with her back to him. "I—" Her voice quavers. "Please. I just want to be alone."

He knows she is crying. He can't see her face, but he knows that silent tears fall from her cheeks. That she bites lip to keep the sobs from escaping.

Gendry reaches a hand to her shoulder. She shakes her head. "Don't."

Her whispered words sting. "Arya—"

His arm falls back to his side as she finally turns to face him. Arya looks to him with glassy eyes, helpless and pleading. "This…" She is shaking her head again. "I can't."

She starts to cry again. There is no stopping the tears now. Gendry moves for her, but her eyes drift down and her palm is between them, firm against his chest. "No," she tells him, "Please, I can't—"

"Arya…"

Something about hearing her name on his lips made her eyes rise to his. And then, she buries her head into his neck. He feels the hot, wetness of her tears against his skin. His arms envelop her sob wracked form. It hurts to see her like this.

"Gendry, nothing is right," she mumbles through sobs. " I can't… I thought…"

"It's okay," he whispers into her hair. "You're okay."

"Nothing is okay."

"I'm so sorry Arya. I fucked up," Gendry admits. "I said something… terrible. I think it's the worst thing I've ever said. Then I stepped out of the way. Fuck, why did I have to—"

She violently pulls back, her eyes are on fire. "Don't fucking say that. Then it would just be you in the coma, stupid."

"But if I hadn't—"

"You wouldn't have had to step out of the way if he didn't catch us! If we hadn't…" She drifts off, tears silently streaming down her face.

Nothing prepares him for her next words.

"This… this was a mistake."

His bloods runs cold. "Arya, no…" He takes a desperate step towards her. She recoils.

"I can't…" she is saying again. "I can't…"

"Arya," he pleads. "Just think about this…"

"I am!" she screams. "Gendry, I can't handle how guilty I feel! How guilty I feel right now, being with you… It's not right anymore… everything is so fucked up."

"It's my fucking fault, Arya! It's my fucking fault that my best friend is in a fucking coma! Okay? It's _my_ fault, Arya. Not yours."

She is biting her lip, shaking her head. "Please, Arya." He thinks he is crying too now. "Please Arya, I love you."

Her tears stop. She is frozen. Hope swells in his chest.

But then she looks down, her gaze unwavering from her shoes, refusing to meet his eyes again. And he knows. He knows her decsision. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

It's so quiet, he almost doesn't hear it. But he does. He wishes he hadn't.

Anger overcomes him. Gendry's fist strikes out on the nearest inanimate object—the vending machine. The abuse breaks the glass. It shatters and cuts his hand. He can feel the sticky warmth between his fingers. Arya jumps with a quick, startled inhale of breath. He hears it as he turns to leave.

He refuses to look back.

* * *

Arya walks numb back to her family. In hand are the crisps she salvaged from beneath the broken glass.

She had never seen Gendry like that. So angry. She has never seen fury in his cool blue eyes. She supposes that Gendry was right. She brought out something in him. And maybe it was not a good thing.

She didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to make him angry. She didn't want him to hate her.

Arya thinks he might. What flashed in his eyes… it could only be hate.

But before. Before he had said that he loved her. And she wonders if she might love him too.

It's completely mad. They met two months ago. They barely know each other.

But the way he makes her feel… just by being around, just by smiling, just by kissing her. The way he randomly appears in her thoughts, that way she is excited to see him, the way she misses his touch…

The way he looks at her. And the way she must look at him.

It doesn't matter. She tells herself again. _It doesn't matter._

Because it's over.

She feels empty, like nothing.

"Where's Gendry?" Dad asks at her return, having immediately noticed Gendry's lack of one.

He's been acting weird all night, fidgety and often staring out into space. But what do you expect? His son is in a coma.

"He left."

Arya sits beside her father. She finds that she isn't hungry anymore and gives her crisps to a very hungry and eager Rickon. Resting her head on his shoulder, she struggles to keep her eyes open.

As she falls asleep, she decides one thing.

Emptiness is better than guilt.

* * *

**AN: I'm sorry I broke them up! It had to happen. Also I will say: Jon will be okay. Eventually. I promise. But the rest of the story doesn't really work if wakes up immediately!**

**Anyway, thank you for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I am very sorry for the delay! I meant to update this last Wednesday. Oops. I was suddenly very busy with actual life and then FF was down ... Anyway thank you for being patient!**

* * *

It's midnight when her parents force her home. She refuses to leave twice before Robb offers stay the night with Jon, in case he wakes up. They all know he won't, and it's only said to get Arya to leave the hospital.

She showers because she feels like she needs to. She needs to wash off Jon's blood (metaphorically _and _literally, unfortunately). She needs to wash off Gendry. His scent, his hands, his lips, his mouth… It's all over her.

Her skin is raw by the time she collapses into bed. She closes her eyes with a small sigh and waits for sleep to take her away.

But her mind will not shut up. After three hours of waiting, she knows it's not coming.

Arya pads downstairs into the kitchen. She wants tea. That always helps her sleep, helps her relax. And maybe she'll have a snack. When was the last time she ate anyway?

The lights in the kitchen are on. She comes closer and sees her Dad at the bar sitting over his own tea, the steam wafting up into his face.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Her father nods, grim. "You too?"

"Yeah."

She moves about the kitchen in silence, grabbing her favorite mug from the cabinet and tearing the troublesome teabag wrapper with her teeth.

"Are you alright, Arya?"

She looks up to him and raises a brow. "Are _you_?"

"Yes," he answers. "Well, no. But I didn't see Jon get hit by a car."

"Oh." Arya's gaze drifts down. She stares at her mug and tries not to picture it.

"Arya, why were you at Jon's?"

She is frozen at his words. She searches for an excuse. Why was she at Jon's? Why? "Umm…"

"You know you can tell me anything."

Arya looks up at his words. She is caught under his knowing look. "You've been out a lot lately, and very vague about where you're going. When I saw you with him tonight, the way he …" he drifts off. "I just wish you would have told me."

Arya swallows. "It wasn't you. Not really. It was Jon we didn't really want to know." She bites her lip. "But I wasn't sure how you or mum would react…"

He nods and says, "He's a bit old for you."

The words are instinctive at this point. "We're only three years apart." She looks away. "It doesn't matter now, anyway. It's… over. Tonight we broke up."

His brows furrow. "At the hospital? Why?"

"We…" Her vision grows blurry. "Jon got hit by a car. Because of us. Because Jon caught us."

"What do you mean?"

"Jon saw us together. He freaked out. He tried to hit Gendry and he moved out of the way… They didn't see the car." Arya doesn't remember starting to cry. "It's because of us."

His hand moves over hers. "Arya, look at me." She does. "You did not cause some drunk to run over your brother."

"But we—"

"It's not your fault. It's not because of you or Gendry. It's because someone didn't see Jon in the road. If it's anyone's fault, it's theirs."

"Then why do I feel so guilty? Why do—"

Her father stands to hold his crying mess of a daughter. When she finally calms down, he makes her a new cup of tea, because the original is cold.

Arya stops him when he is about to go back up to bed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was afraid you would compare them, think that he…" She bites her lip and admits, "Robert Baratheon is—"

"Gendry's father," he finishes for her. A nostalgic smile spreads across his face. "I know. I remember getting the call, the day he was born. I've never heard Robert so happy—"

"You knew?" Arya is aghast. "And you let him fucking leave him? Leave his wife, leave his child—"

"I can't control what Robert does. No one can. I learned that a long time ago." Arya grits her teeth. "And as far as I can tell, the only thing Gendry shares with his father are his looks."

She softens. Arya finds herself wishing Gendry were there to hear that.

* * *

It's been three days. Jon hasn't woken up. Arya practically lives at the hospital. She would sleep there if her parents would allow it.

Perhaps she would sleep better if she was there. Arya spends most of the night tossing and turning, thinking about Jon, thinking about Gendry. She has had exactly seven hours of sleep over the course of three days. She counted.

Arya peers at her reflection in the mirror. She wants to cringe at the dark circles beneath her eyes. She wishes that the tired, blank expression she wears would fade. Her body is exhausted and sluggish. She thinks at any moment, it will simply just give out on her.

She walks around the house like a zombie, and her family is deeply concerned. Everyone leaves her alone. Except for her father, who tells her that maybe she should go talk to _him._

Even if she wanted to talk to Gendry, she isn't sure he would want to. She thinks of his fist slamming in to the vending machine, the fury in his eyes. She hurt him. He must hate her.

Sometimes, she thinks that she made a mistake. Arya will admit that the accident was perhaps not directly their fault. She still feels guilty. But maybe… maybe she could get over it.

A knock at the door pulls her away from her thoughts. It is her mother. She offers Arya an unsure smile as she enters her bedroom. "Mum? What's up? Is Jon—"

"Jon's fine." Arya breathes a sigh of relief. Her mother continues, "I just… we're all worried about you."

"I'm fine, mum. You don't need to worry about me."

"You're not, Arya." Her next words are hesitant, "Your father… he told me about Gendry."

"Oh." Arya figured this would happen.

"I'm sorry, dear." She approaches, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know it's difficult, especially everything going on with Jon… but perhaps this is for the best."

"None of this is for the best," Arya says before she can bite her tongue. "Gendry is…." She shakes her head and sighs, "Why do you think that anyway? I thought you would want me to have a boyfriend. You're always wanting me to be more like Sansa."

"That's not true, Arya." Her hand falls from her shoulder in offense. "I love you just the way you are. Sometime, yes, I wish we had a little more in common, like Sansa and I do. But I understand that you and your sister are different people, and that's okay." She brushes back her daughter's hair, "I just think you're too young for something so serious. So is Sansa."

"I wasn't going to move in with him or anything, mum." She stops herself from rolling her eyes. "And Sansa… Sansa's happy. She seems to really love him." Arya thinks back to the hospital, to Sandor comforting her sister. His pain-stricken face, the sympathy in his eyes… it was the first time she's seen the big brute show any emotion. "And he seems to really love her too."

Her mother sighs, "I just wish she would have gone to university first."

* * *

She is at the hospital. Again. And this time Sansa has joined her.

They are at Jon's bedside. His heart monitor beeps steadily. It's comforting. Together, they sit in the loveseat beside the window.

The room is nice. Her father paid for a private room. It's spacious, with a lot of windows and light. The windows are a request of her mother's. She says it makes everything less "gloomy". Arya is glad it makes her mother feel better, but it doesn't make her feel any better.

"Arya?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to pry, or for you to get mad … but Arya, you look awful."

The corner of her mouth quirks up, "More awful than usual?"

"That is not what I meant." Her sister's lips are pursed. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Last night." This is not a lie. She slept for two hours. "Sansa, really. I'm okay."

Her sister doesn't push it any further. They fall back into silence.

"Sansa?"

"Yes?"

"I just…" Arya sighs. "I'm sorry, okay? About Sandor. I understand now, he makes you happy. And you should be able to be with whoever makes you happy."

This touches her sister. Her eyes glisten with unshed tears. "Thank you, Arya."

For once, Arya is the first to move in for the sisterly embrace.

* * *

It is a Friday night when Jon wakes up. At exactly seven minutes past midnight, she gets the call.

The whole family rushes to the hospital. Everyone is crying and wants a hug from the disoriented Jon.

"I'm so sorry," Arya whispers to him.

"It wasn't your fault, little sister. I shouldn't have attacked him, I'm sorry."

* * *

School starts back up the following Monday. Arya sits at her lunch table, silently picking at her macaroni and cheese with a flimsy plastic fork.

Her classmates are in deep discussion, something about Hot Pie's bread that she tunes out. Jon is awake, but stuck in the hospital. She hasn't seen Gendry in over a week. Arya wonders if he's even gone to the hospital to visit his roommate. She feels like she would have seen him, if he had.

She wants to see him. To talk to him. To say that she is sorry that she hurt him. To say that he means more to her than she could possibly explain. To say…

"Arya," Edric Dayne interrupts her thoughts. "_Arya_."

She snaps, "What?"

"Easy," He puts his hands up in surrender with a chuckle. "Just wanted to ask if you were alright. You were spacing out."

"Yeah," Hot Pie says. "Were you listening to _anything_ I was saying?

"Oh," she starts. "I'm so fucking sorry that I'm too busy thinking about how my brother is in fucking _hospital_, to pretend that I'm intrigued by your croissant and honey-wheat crossbreed, which sounds fucking disgusting by the way! You don't know _half _of what I'm going through, so please just leave me the fuck alone!"

She shut them up. Until Hot Pie finally breaks the silence. "Are you on your period or something?"

"Fucking hell."

* * *

School is over. Arya goes straight to the hospital. Jon smiles when she enters.

Gesturing to where it lay on the sofa, "You left your jacket last night."

"I was wondering where that went," she says as she retrieves it. "Been freezing my ass off all day."

He gives her a half-hearted chuckle. She joins him on the bed, and they fall into silence as they stare blankly at the TV.

Things are slightly awkward between them. Her brother knows she and Gendry are finished, and he knows that he is the reason. She is almost always lost in her thoughts, moping, and sleep deprived.

Eventually, Jon mutters under his breath, "You're even worse than him."

She catches it. Her heart stops. Jon has seen Gendry. She is worse than him.

"Fucking say something, Arya," Jon pleads. "Stop being quiet, stop being tired, stop…" He drifts off. His voice is small when he speaks again, "Stop being sad."

Arya is taken aback. She looks into Jon's softened eyes. They are ashamed, guilty. They plead with her.

"I'm so sorry, little sister." His face is pained. "You were happy. You were _both _happy. And I… I'm sorry. I was wrong. I was trying to protect you, but I… I only hurt you."

She doesn't know what to say. Jon had been the reason. He was her validation. He was her reassurance. He was the _only _thing that justified the breakup. She took solace in that, and now it is gone.

_I fucked everything up._

The realization hits her hard. _What did I do? What did I do? He loved me, he loved me, and I ruined it. I ruined everything—_

"Arya, are you okay?"

She still doesn't know what to say. Words refuse to come to her. Luckily, she is saved by another's entrance. Ygritte, her brother's mystery redhead, comes through the door.

Arya has met her a few times now. From what she gathers, their relationship can be a bit rocky. She's caught them bickering a couple times. They apparently had a fight the night of Jon's accident, which explained her brother's early return.

But the both of them seem to care greatly for one another. Arya remembers Ygritte's sad, reddened eyes the night she came to the hospital. She hadn't heard about the accident until after Jon had woken up.

Arya remembered how her brother had smiled when he first saw her.

Ygritte recognizes the tense atmosphere upon entering the room. "Everything okay?" She glances to Jon and then to Arya. "I could come back later…"

"No." Arya finally finds her words. "It's fine. I've got to head out anyways." She rushes to leave. "It was nice to see you again," she tells Ygritte before flying out the door.

"Arya, wait—" Jon tries. She ignores him.

She wants Gendry back, she does. She knows that now. Jon made her realize that. But he won't take her back, will he? She fucked it up and now he is angry with her. She knows that she hurt him.

She drives aimlessly around town for about an hour.

Until her subconscious takes her to the pub. _Their _pub. The Peach.

Arya thinks that she could use a drink.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Hello! So I just wanted to give you a heads up: this isn't a very long story. It will definitely last you to the premiere of season 4. I think there are... 3 chapters left?**

**Anyways I just don't think I should write anymore than what I have written. I'm happy with my ending and I don't want to drag it on too far, you know?**

**Though eventually, I was thinking about a sequel set in the summer? The epilogue is going to take place then, and I have more ideas... I don't know, we'll see!**

**Thank you for reading and for all of your support! Now let's see what Gendry's been up to...**

* * *

He wakes, he eats only because he has to, he goes to lie back in bed, and often he will go to the pub. Not to drink, only to wallow. Gendry has been doing a lot of wallowing.

After the anger subsided, all he feels is… hollow. Like something integral to his very being has been ripped out from him. It hurts. More than Gendry could ever think possible.

Arya Stark broke him.

He avoids the hospital. He knows it's a complete shit thing to do. But he is not ready to face Arya or Jon (who has apparently awoken).

But then school starts up and Gendry is given the task of bringing Jon his classwork. He can't avoid Jon any longer. He prays that Arya will not be there.

Gendry grinds his teeth while he rides the lift to Jon's level. About four times, he almost pushes the button that would take him back to the main floor.

Jon hates him. He fell in love with his little sister. He fucked his little sister. He hid it from him. He stepped out of the way.

The lift dings to tell him that he has arrived on his desired floor.

Gendry walks stiffly to his room. His fingers fidget with the damaged spine of Jon's High Valyrian textbook, nails picking off the torn paper. He tries to think of what he will say to his roommate. His closest friend that he betrayed.

He doesn't end up saying anything. Neither of them does. They stare at each other in silence.

Guilt grips Gendry at the sight of his broken roommate. Jon is hooked up to IVs. He still wears the neck brace. There is a cast on his left arm. The bruises are nearly healed.

He starts to apologize. "I—"

"Let's just leave the past in the past, okay?"

Jon offers a half smile. Gendry nods, "Okay."

* * *

It is difficult to the leave the past in the past. Neither Jon nor Gendry speak of what happened, but they both know. It is unbearably awkward. But guilt and desperation to amend his friendship drags Gendry down to the hospital almost on a daily basis (at an hour he knows Arya will be at school).

Their time together mostly consists of staring at the small television, walking around the hospital (a new development for Jon. Now he can actually move around without having to lean on someone), and sitting in silence.

Jon used to be so easy to talk to. Just like with Arya, conversation came naturally with him. Unlike with Arya, their silences were not comfortable.

One afternoon, Gendry finds a jacket thrown onto the sofa. He recognizes it as Arya's. His hand reaches for it, his fingers traces the buttons and pockets. He is overcome with hollowness.

"Yeah," Jon clears his throat. Gendry realizes that he is watching him, and pulls his hand away. "She left it last night."

"Oh." He nods awkwardly. With one last side-glance to the jacket, he turns back to Jon. "Wanna watch some TV?"

Gendry stays with Jon for an hour or so before heading out. He doesn't want to risk Arya stopping by, and tomorrow he has a Westeros History exam. He figures he should look over his notes a bit.

He thinks of Arya on the walk home. He thinks of her in that jacket. He thinks of their last day together. He thinks of when he was pulling it off her shoulders. He thinks of wrapping it back around her, because she's cold. He thinks of her frozen hand in his. He thinks of them in bed. He thinks of her soft _thank you_.

Gendry tries to revise. He does. But it's difficult to concentrate. About a half-hour of staring at his notebook, he admits defeat. For a solid hour, he tries to watch television. He can't focus on that either.

He showers. He shaves. He does fucking laundry. He makes toast. But when only crumbs are left on his plate, he is back to where he started.

Gendry sighs and grabs his coat, and heads out the door.

He is bound for the pub.

* * *

Gendry doesn't see her car in the lot.

It is busy that night. It is crowded with loud and obnoxious drunk people. It isn't until he's pushed through the mass of bodies huddled by the bar that he sees her.

He is stunned. He is frozen. His heart pounds against his ribs, he hears it loud in his ears.

She is curled up in their booth, her head resting on the wall. He counts three empty shot glasses on the table. And a nearly empty pint.

Her eyes are closed. She doesn't see him.

His feet move on their own will. He is walking towards her. His hand reaches out.

"Arya," he says. "Arya, are you alright?"

Her eyes flutter open. They are glazed over, but the surprise peeks through. "… Gendry?"

He coaxes her out of the booth. "I think it's time to go home."

"No…" she slurs. She shakes her head as she stands. "I can't go home. Not like this."

She leans on him heavily for support. The sharp smell of alcohol assaults his nose. Perhaps she really can't go home like this. "Okay, we won't then." He tries to sound reassuring. "We'll go to mine."

"Jon…"

"Jon is in the hospital, remember?"

"Right."

He ends up carrying her out to the car. It takes Gendry a few minutes to find it. When he does, he puts her in the passenger's and tries to buckle her seatbelt. Her keys are in her jacket pocket.

She rests her head against the window along the ride home. He sends concerned glances her way every once and a while. Gendry has never seen Arya this drunk.

They pull up to the university. When he goes around to help her out of the car, he sees that she's crying.

She is looking down. Silent tears are caught in her lashes. Her cheeks are wet.

"Hey." His hand reaches for hers. She doesn't pull away. "It's okay."

"It's not okay," she tells him. "Everything is so fucked up. I fucked everything up."

"You just had a bit too much—"

"No," she says adamantly. "Let me get this out. I fucked up, okay? You… you are good for me. You make me different too. You made me slow down, calm down, enjoy the little things. You made me happy. You made me feel beautiful. You made me want you. You… you made me fall in love with you."

He wants to believe her. He wants to tell her that he loves her too. He wants to wrap her in his arms. "Arya," Gendry swallows painfully. "You're drunk."

"That doesn't mean I don't mean it." Her hand reaches for him, for his face. "At the hospital… you said… Do you love me?"

He looks into her eyes, and he is hopeless. "Yes."

"Kiss me."

He does.

* * *

Arya wakes in Gendry's bed, in Gendry's arms. Her phone is beeping. Light streams through the curtains, and she squints her sensitive eyes.

She reaches for her phone, trying not to disturb her sleeping bedmate. She has two missed calls from her father. A text from her mother. _Where are you?_

Arya replies that she fell asleep at the hospital and that she's sorry, and will be home soon. Luckily it's a Saturday and she will not have to go to school.

Gendry stirs. She watches him come to with a smile.

Last night is a bit blurry, but she remembers most of it. She remembers him kissing her, telling her he loved her, his arms keeping her steady as they made their way upstairs, him guiding her to the bed and immediately falling into an alcohol induced sleep. She remembers him crawling in beside her, whispering _goodnight _and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Hi," he grins sleepily.

She bites her lip to contain her smile. "Hi."

Arya leans closer, slowly moving on top of him. Her lips brush across his jaw. His hands wander up her shirt, fingers mapping out her spine. She melts into his touch.

"Aren't you hungover?" His voice is low and breathy in her ear.

Arya whispers, "No." She tilts her head to meet his lips with her own. She does it again, their tentative tongues brush. The kiss deepens, his hand comes to the back of her head. She is tugging off her shirt.

Her phone rings. She pauses. "Just leave it," Gendry says.

She bites her lip with an apologetic look, "It might be my parents." Arya rolls off of him to answer. "Hello?"

"Arya, where are you?" It is her father.

"At the hospital, I told mum—"

"Your mother went to visit Jon earlier this morning with Bran and Rickon. Please do not lie to me."

Fuck. Is it better to tell your father that you stayed at a man's house because you were drunk or because you were having sex? Arya wishes Sansa were there to ask. "I may have stayed at Jon's dorm."

"You mean Gendry's dorm." Arya remains silent. It wasn't a question anyway. "You got back together?"

"I was going to tell you," she says. "It happened just last night."

There is silence on the other line. "Arya… maybe you shouldn't be staying the night at—"

"Dad, um. Can we please have this conversation later?" And not while Gendry is right beside her?

"Yes. Just come home before your mother has a heart attack."

"Okay, I will."

They say their goodbyes and she hangs up. "I have to go," she says. "I'm sorry."

Arya is out of bed, searching for her shoes. She finds them kicked off over by the kitchen. How did they get over there?

"It's okay. Does your Dad know about us?"

"Yeah." She hastily pulls on her sneakers. "He doesn't seem _mad _though. I think he just wants me to come home."

She grabs her jacket off the sofa and returns to Gendry. She bends to kiss him goodbye.

Their lips meet, and she forgets that she is in a rush. Her eyes flutter closed and his hand comes to her cheek. Her mouth lingers on his as they part. He brushes a stray strand of hair out of her face. She is mesmerized by his eyes, by the way they look at her so tenderly.

Arya will always be mesmerized by his eyes.

"I love you," he says.

"I love you too."


	12. Chapter 12

"This is stupid."

Arya mutters under her breath as she pulls up to Stark Manor. Her anxious fingers tap against the steering wheel. Her lips are pursed. She shakes her head. "_Really stupid_."

She turns to Gendry, sitting in the passenger's seat. "You don't have to do this. We can just leave. We can go back to yours. Watch a movie, fuck on your dresser this time—"

Gendry and Arya have a game going. The objective is to have sex on every piece of furniture in the dorm. So far, they've accomplished this on: the sofa, the kitchen counter, the bathroom counter, the desk chair, and obviously the bed.

"Arya. I really don't mind. And besides," he continues with an amused quirk to his lips, "we can always fuck on my dresser later."

She grumbles, "If Jon will ever leave us alone for one fucking minute."

Her brother returned from the hospital last night, and to the dorms. Arya and Gendry's two weeks of complete bliss were over. Jon and Gendry did have their own separate bedrooms… but if she stayed over... Arya doesn't think she could handle awkwardness.

And her parents do not exactly approve of her late nights. Arya always tries to return before they wake the next morning. She doesn't need Jon ratting on her. She doesn't think he would purposely say anything, but something might slip.

It had taken a lot of talking from her dad to get her mother to come around, to not be completely opposed to Gendry. She is afraid that they are too serious, that she will run off with him as soon as she has the chance, just like Sansa did.

But they are trying to be understanding, to not push her away. Arya knows that. That's why they invited Gendry to Jon's coming home dinner.

They want to show that they can be accepting of her relationship. This is a gesture. Maybe she should just fucking accept it. Gendry seems quite keen on it anyway.

"Arya, it's going to be okay," he assures. Smiling, he leans to give her a soft kiss. "Now can we please go inside before they think we're having sex out here?"

She sighs and finally relents, "Fine."

* * *

Dinner is going fairly well. Arya hadn't needed to worry. Her family has been nothing but courteous to him.

He is sandwiched between Arya and Jon, having made amends with him a week before. His roommate made it clear that he is okay with Gendry dating his sister as long as he doesn't have to "see it, hear it, or even think about it".

Conversation has not revolved around him, thanks the gods. But mostly on Jon's recovery, Sansa's promotion from secretary to personal assistant, and Bran's win at an essay contest, which will apparently look good on his uni applications.

He catches Sansa staring at him like he's an alien every once and a while. He also notices that Arya kicks her under the table and whispers for her to quit. Sansa says something back that he can't hear.

When they have finished eating, and everyone has dispersed, Arya and Gendry sneak up to her room. They are almost called out. Robb catches them kissing on the stairs.

He clears his throat. Arya freezes. "Robb."

"Arya. Gendry," he greets. "I was just about to head out."

"Oh. See you Sunday then?"

He nods and offers out a hand to Gendry. "It was nice to meet you." As they shake hands, under his breath, Robb says, "If you hurt her, remember that Jon will help me kick the shit out of you, even if he is your roommate. He will always be Arya's big brother first."

She hears it. "_Robb,_" Arya chastises. "Leave him alone, he hasn't done anything. And I can take care of myself, you know."

"I know, I know." He smiles. "But it's my job as your big brother to threaten him."

He hugs his sister goodbye. She whispers a _thank you_ for not announcing to the whole family that she was sneaking Gendry up to her room.

They lie in her bed, wrapped around each other. "See, everything went okay."

"Yeah," she agrees. "But Robb threatened you. And my sister stared. Sorry about that. She says she says that she just can't believe I've got a boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" This is the first time Arya has referred to him as such.

She has one look at his smug face and says, "I didn't say that. _Sansa _did."

"But what else would you call it? Am I your _lover_?"

She scrunches up her nose and laughs. "That's even worse."

"Am I your sweetheart? Am I your steady? Am I—"

Her foot darts to whack him in the shin. It doesn't really hurt, but he cries out in surprise and bites back a laugh. "Owww—"

Then her lips are suddenly on his. They silence his whining. She is on top of him. Her eyes sparkle with amusement and that affection reserved only for him.

"Shut up. You're just Gendry. _My _Gendry. You're mine."

"And you're mine?"

"I'm yours."

* * *

**AN: Was that too sappy? I think we all deserve some sap in the world of GoT, don't you think?**

**Anyway, only one more chapter left! Thank you all for sticking with me!**


End file.
